So Beautiful
by Clairisant2000
Summary: After Catherine is rescued from her captors, she must find a way to convince Vincent that she sees a beauty in him that he cannot see in himself.
1. Chapter 1

TITLE: So Beautiful

AUTHOR: Clairisant

FEEDBACK: Would love to hear both good and bad feedback but please try to be kind and constructive. Clairisant 

CREDITS: A special thank you to my beta readers Qupeydoll and Joan.

"**You Are So Beautiful**" is a song written by Billy Preston and Bruce Fisher in 1974.

Chapter 1

The last three months of Catherine's life had been the strangest and most wonderful of her life, all at the same time. Three months ago to the day, Vincent had rescued her from the men that had been holding her captive and questioning her non-stop about the book that Joe Maxwell had gotten from Patrick Hanlin.

Someone had heard her message frantically tapped out on the pipes in the room they had kept her in, and Vincent had come to save her. When he'd breached the building, they had tried to get her away, but Vincent had seen them shoving her into a car, and he'd leapt from the window to pull her to safety. She had only enough strength to gasp his name when she saw him before passing out in his arms.

He had found the nearest tunnel access and raced as quickly as he dared with her in his arms towards help. At the first sentry outpost Vincent called out for them to alert Father that he had found Catherine and to meet them in his chamber. Word spread like wild fire or rather at the speed of tapping on the pipes. Catherine was told about it later, but as the word spread, the tunnels along the path to Vincent's chamber became lined with well-wishers, eager to get a glimpse of the person they had all been helping to search for over the past six weeks. Even though it was the middle of the night, everyone wanted to see for themselves that Catherine had been found.

Vincent was barely aware of the sensation he'd caused; his only concern was Catherine and what might be wrong with her. Entering his chamber, he found Mary already there, and as he was gently placing Catherine on his bed, Father hobbled in with his medical bag.

Catherine's arm had fallen limply off the side of the bed as she'd been laid down, and Mary gasped to see all the needle marks there. She quickly pointed them out to Father. Leaning over her, Father repeatedly tapped her cheeks calling her name insistently. Her eyelids fluttered and he demanded, "Catherine! Do you know what you were drugged with?"

Weakly she answered, "They wanted me to talk," before passing out again.

"It's probably sodium pentothal then, and if that is the case, she just needs to sleep it off," Father said as he gave her a general exam.

Vincent was watching his every move and noticed instantly when Father went still. He saw him try and motion Mary over to check something out, hoping that his son hadn't seen, but he had, and after Mary nodded silently in agreement, Vincent asked, "What is it Father?"

"Vincent," even his tone said that Father didn't want to answer.

"Just tell me, Father! I need to know!"

Hesitantly Father said, "It appears that Catherine is pregnant."

"Oh, my poor Catherine!" Vincent exclaimed, falling to his knees next to the bed and taking her hand in his. As Jacob moved to comfort his son, Vincent demanded, "Please leave us! I'll watch over her and call if there is any need."

Father was going to protest when Mary shook her head and motioned for him to follow her from the chamber. Out in the hall she said, "Vincent thinks this happened to her while she was captured, but she's further along than that."

"Yes and that will hurt him even more when he finds out," Father said sadly.

Hours later when most of the community was at breakfast questioning Father about Catherine's condition, she finally opened her eyes to find Vincent next to her still holding her hand.

"Vincent," she said softly.

He smiled tenderly at her and held a glass of water to her lips for her to take a drink. Once she was settled back on the pillows he asked, "How do you feel?"

"Better now that you've found me." She hesitated before asking, but just had to know, "Did Father examine me?"

"Yes, Catherine, he did, and he discovered that you are pregnant."

"Is the baby alright? I know the doctor giving me the drugs said more could harm the baby!"

"You knew?" he asked, startled at the discovery.

To be continued….


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Yes, I found out the day before they took me," Catherine answered.

"Before?!"

"Yes, Vincent. This baby is the gift that I was trying to tell you about that last night."

"You wanted to give me your child?" he questioned, clearly confused.

"Not my child, Vincent. Our child…"

"That's not possible!" he interrupted.

"It is! We loved…that night in the cave…"

She stopped speaking as a look of horror came over his face and he jumped to his feet and backed away from her. "I forced you! I rap…"

"No Vincent, you didn't! We loved! And it was wonderful! Please come back," she pleaded.

He shook his shaggy head and looked like he would flee from the room. "Vincent…please!" she begged again, this time he could see tears forming in her eyes.

Slowly he came towards the bed; and when he was close enough, she reached out for his hand. Moving over in the bed, she tugged on his hand until he reluctantly sat down next to her. "Vincent, I would never lie to you! You didn't hurt me, and you gave me this wonderful gift! Vincent, we're going to have a baby."

"But Catherine…what kind of baby?"

"A wonderful miraculous baby! Vincent, please tell me you're happy about this?" she implored him.

He looked into her fearful eyes and knew she needed to hear his reassurances, but he just didn't know if he could do it. "Catherine, our dream…"

"Vincent, our dream is a reality now!" She took the hand she'd been clinging to and placed it over her tummy. She could see that he wanted to pull away from touching her like that until he felt the evidence of their child under his hand.

The look of awe that came over his face was all that she could have hoped for as he whispered, "Catherine."

"That is our child, Vincent! Created in love, our gift to each other!"

Trying to put his fears aside for her sake, he smiled and thanked her for the gift. He might have said more, but Father came in and wanted to examine Catherine. Pronouncing her well enough to get up, he told them that everyone at breakfast had been full of questions and were eager to welcome her back. Catherine said she would love to see everyone, but wanted a bath first.

Vincent gathered some clothes for her from his dresser, and she carefully made her way to the private bathing chamber that Vincent shared with Father. When the two men were alone, Father asked, "Vincent, did you talk to Catherine about the baby? I didn't want to say anything to her if the two of you hadn't discussed it yet."

"You should probably sit down, Father," his son told him and waited for the elder man to do so.

"Yes, Vincent?"

"Father, the child Catherine is carrying is mine."

"What?! That's not possible!"

"Catherine assures me it is. Although I don't remember it, she says our child was conceived that night in the cave."

There was a long pause before Father replied and then he softly said, "I see. Vincent, how do you feel about this?"

"Worried, concerned for Catherine, but she seems overjoyed about it and wants me to be as well."

"Vincent, if this is true, the baby will need to be born Below…in case…"

"Yes Father, in case the baby looks like me. We haven't discussed that yet, but I'm sure that Catherine will understand the need. There is also the chance that it isn't safe for her to return Above at this time. I was concerned with rescuing her and there might still be people after her."

"I hadn't considered that, but I'm sure the Council will grant her sanctuary if she needs it. What do you plan to tell the community about the baby?"

"Again, we haven't talked about that yet. However, my greatest fears to Catherine and I having a life together all seem to have been unnecessary with this development. If she would have me, I would like nothing better than for Catherine to be my wife."

"She has certainly earned her place at your side, Vincent. I can't think of anyone other than you that is braver than Catherine."

"What do you mean, Father?"

To be continued….


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Catherine has proven herself over and over again. I know I was against your relationship with her and fought hard to discourage you, but I have never been so glad to have been wrong! Look at the way she came to our rescue during the cave in, and how she brought Mouse home to us when he was caught Above. But when she brought you back to us through the sheer force of her love for you, she showed more courage than anyone I have ever known! And now this? I will be very pleased to welcome her to our family, Vincent."

"Thank you, Father. Catherine and I will talk and then maybe have some announcements to make at lunch time."

Father reached under the neckline of the shirt he was wearing and pulled out a leather cord. After sliding it over his head, he untied the knot and slid something off of it. Holding out his hand to Vincent he said, "Margaret wanted me to give this to you when this day came. It is the engagement ring I gave her, and she wanted you to have it for your Catherine."

Vincent carefully took the ring from Father's hand and marveled at how tiny it looked laying on his palm. The platinum band held a single deep red ruby, but as beautiful as the ring was, it was its history that was even more beautiful. "Thank you again, Father. I'm sure Catherine will love it."

"Alright then, Vincent. I'll leave you to your talk with Catherine. Though I told everyone not to disturb the two of you until you appeared, you might want to lower your tapestry. There are always a few that don't think instructions include them."

His son smiled, knowing that Father was most likely referring to Mouse and did as instructed as Jacob left the room.

Catherine returned from the bathing chamber feeling refreshed and glad of the clean tunnel garb to replace the clothes she had been in for weeks. She saw him lowering the tapestry and looked at him questioningly, having never seen it closed in all the times she had been Below.

"Father suggested it," he explained. "He knew I wanted to talk to you uninterrupted before we saw everyone."

"What about, Vincent?"

"I know that you're aware that it has been my fears holding us back from making our dream a reality, but as you've so clearly pointed out, that is no longer applicable. I guess what I am trying to say, is that with your courage to lead the way I want to go forward into our future together." Vincent gracefully got down on one knee in front of her and holding out his hand where the engagement ring rested he asked, "Catherine, will you marry me?"

Sinking down to sit on the bed, she put one hand over her heart and with the other reached out to caress his cheek. "Yes, Vincent, I would be honored to be your wife."

Taking the ring in his other hand, he reached out for the one covering her heart. As tears of joy fell down her cheeks, he tenderly slipped in onto her finger. Both of them were amazed to find that it was a perfect fit.

"It's a beautiful ring, Vincent."

"It was Margaret's engagement ring. She gave it to Father before she died to keep it for us."

"Oh! How lovely of her! We will have to pass it on to our son or daughter, make it a family tradition!"

"Our son or daughter…it still doesn't seem real."

"It is real, Vincent. In just a few months we'll be able to hold our baby…do you want a boy or a girl?" she asked, placing her hand over her tummy.

"I hadn't thought about it, but I guess I'd like a little girl as beautiful as her mother."

"Oh dear…"

"What is it, Catherine?" he asked in concern at her sad shake of her head.

"It seems we are at odds, my love, because I want a boy as handsome as his father!"

"Catherine! You can't mean that!" he protested.

"Of course I do, Vincent! I've always told you that I think you're beautiful. I'm hoping that seeing your face in our child, you will see what I mean."

Shaking his head in denial of what she was saying, he got to his feet. They still needed to talk about other things, and it was definitely time to change the subject.

But before he got the chance Catherine said something that startled him. "I know that you don't believe me, Vincent, and changing the subject won't make it go away!"

"How did you know…"

To be continued….


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Because I feel what you feel, when you feel it, almost as if we were one," she answered, shocking him to the core.

"Catherine, how? The Bond is gone…lost to us…"

"No, Vincent. Lost to you, but not to me. Ever since that night in the cave when all of your defenses were down…I can only guess that you had been blocking your feelings from me all this time…I'm not sure if in some way you thought you were protecting me, or if you just didn't trust me with your feelings, but since that night the Bond has been completely open to me. I felt your confusion and unrest the night I came to tell you about the baby and decided to wait. I also felt your despair in not being able to find me whenever the drugs in my system wore off enough not to block it."

"But then why is it that I can no longer feel our Bond?" he asked, pacing the room.

"I have a theory about that, Vincent, but I need to know something first. Do you want to have out Bond back?"

He stopped dead and his mouth gaped open for a moment before he protested, "Catherine! Our Bond saved your life on more than one occasion! How can you ask me that?"

"I also remember you telling me that the loss of the Bond was the price you paid for the peace you had found. If I'm right and your side of the Bond is restored, there's no going back. I know now how hard it can be to know what someone else is feeling. But Vincent, for me, having this connection to you was the only thing other than the baby that kept me going all these weeks. You need to decide for yourself if you want that back!"

"There is no choice, Catherine. You are my life and without you there is nothing. The Bond is our connection! I don't just 'want' it back; I 'need' it back!"

She just couldn't help it; this was way too important not to know for sure! Catherine closed her eyes and tested the Bond to see if he really meant what he was saying.

Vincent stood there and watched her do what he had done hundreds of times during their years together. He knew she was checking his true feelings through the Bond, and he couldn't help but feel just the tiniest bit jealous that she was able to do this while he couldn't. To know Catherine's feelings whenever he 'tuned in' to her had been a connection that had helped him through the long and lonely times when they were apart. He needed that back! He wanted it back!

Catherine opened her eyes and smiled at him. He did want their Bond back, she was sure of it now. "Vincent, will you come and sit here by me?" she asked, patting the bed where she sat.

They had loved…had created a child together…why did just sitting on a bed together then seem so intimate to him? With a mental shake, he propelled himself forward and sat down where she indicated.

Taking his hand in hers and turning to look at him, she began to speak, "Vincent, do you remember telling me that for you the Bond was like hearing my heart beating alongside of your own?" At his nod of confirmation, she went on, "Well, after that night in the cave, you went into that restorative sleep that Father says you do whenever you are healing. You were out of it for three weeks, and some time in that third week a fetal heart starts beating. I think that maybe by the time you came around the baby's heartbeat was masking mine from you."

Looking into his eyes as she said this, Catherine saw Vincent processing her words and then test them to see if she was right. "The baby's heartbeat would be lighter and faster…" she offered.

He nodded as he continued testing her theory. Yes! He could hear the light fast beat of their child's heart…he would take time to rejoice in that later, for now he had to press on to find Catherine's…and there it was! As sure and steady as it had always been. He could feel it! He could feel her again! She was happy and radiating love towards him, but over the top of all that was worry…worry about if this would work and at how he was reacting to all this.

To be continued….


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Catherine, I can felt it again! Our Bond is restored to me! Thank you!" he gasped out, drawing their clasped hands to his lips and kissing the back of hers in gratitude. "Thank you so much, my beloved Catherine! This is a gift beyond measure!"

"I'm glad, Vincent, and now I hope that you can feel my joy at carrying your child."

"There was never a doubt in my mind about that, Catherine. One has only to look into your face when you speak of the baby to know how you feel."

"Good," she said with a gentle smile. She watched the change come over his face and knew at once that something was wrong. It screamed along the Bond as well. He was terribly upset about something. "Vincent, what is it?"

"Catherine, if I had only let you tell me about the baby that night! If I hadn't been so selfishly wrapped up in my own concerns, our Bond could have been restored that night, and I would have found you as soon as you were taken! It wouldn't have taken weeks for me to find you! You wouldn't have had to have gone through what you did…"

He had been speaking so quickly that this was the first chance she had to interrupt. At first she had been horrified that this had been what was wrong, and by the time she snapped out of it, he had been heaping recriminations on his own head. "Vincent, no! We don't know that is what would have happened! It wasn't until I was taken that I thought of the heartbeat idea! There is no way to be sure that if I had told you that night any of this could have been prevented! Please, my love, don't do this to yourself! It's over and we are together again, and we have so much to celebrate now. Can't you rejoice in that?"

"But Catherine, if you had told me that night, we might have figured all this out together!" he protested.

"Yes, we might've, or we might not have! But that doesn't matter now. Vincent, no one can change the past and that is what that is, the past. We need to look forward now to the future, to our marriage and to the baby. Please, Vincent, let's just look forward!" she pleaded.

He looked into her tear streaked face and saw that once again he was upsetting the woman he loved and knew he had to stop. She was right; they were here now, safe and happy, and they had so much to look forward to! "I am sorry, Catherine. Yes, we do have much to look forward too. I only and always want to protect you from anything bad happening!"

"I know, Vincent, and my job is a big part of that. As soon as I am able, I need to deal with several things involving what happened and then no more. I will move down here if the Council allows me to, and we will have a wonderful life together!"

"I am sure they will have no problem at all with you moving Below if that is truly what you want, Catherine."

"It is! Now is there anything else that we need to discuss, my love?"

"We should decide when we want to get married as well as when we want to tell everyone about our engagement and the baby."

"I don't even know the date. It was hard to keep track while they held me."

"It's December fifteenth, just three weeks before Winterfest."

"Oh, that's perfect! Why don't we get married then? All of our friends will already be there!"

Nodding his agreement, he asked, "And when do you want to tell everyone?"

"Why not today at lunch? We might as well tell them all everything at once. There's no way they won't know I was pregnant before the wedding. I mean I'm already starting to show." As she finished speaking, her stomach growled loudly, and after a startled moment, both of them laughed.

"I guess it's time that we feed you!" he teased.

"Yes, it is!" she cheerfully agreed and arm in arm they set off for the dining hall.

To be continued….


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

When the two of them entered the large room every sound stopped for a split second and then a rousing cheer went up. Catherine smiled and looked up at Vincent who had his arm around her shoulders. Vincent held up his free hand and the room fell silent, waiting to see what he had to say. "Thank you all for that warm welcome home for Catherine. I have told her how each and every one of you aided in the search for her; we are both eternally grateful!"

Once again cheers filled the room giving the two of them time to join Father and Mary at their usual table. Father smiled when he saw Margaret's ring on Catherine's hand, and when Mary saw where he was looking, she gasped softly and, with a tearful smile, whispered, "I'm so happy for the two of you!"

Both of them smiled their thanks as Father patted Catherine's hand and said, "Welcome to the family, Catherine my dear."

"Thank you, Father," she answered with a pleased grin as the cheering behind them finally died down.

Looking at the expression on his parent's face, Vincent kindly inquired, "Father, would you like to announce our engagement?"

"It would be a privilege, Vincent!" Father rose to his feet and cleared his throat. Instantly, he had the attention of everyone in the room. With a cheerful grin, he proclaimed, "It is truly hard to believe that anything could be more wonderful than to have our dear Catherine back among us. However, my son has just given me information that can top that! He and Catherine are going to be married!"

The room simply erupted! There were cheers and shouts, as well as some very happy tears. Questions started to fly after the pandemonium had died down just a bit. The most predominant was 'when?' Father turned to Vincent to see if there was an answer to that yet, and when his son nodded, Father sat down, leaving center stage to the happy couple.

"Because we have so recently had it brought home to us how precious time always is, Catherine and I would like to be married in three weeks at Winterfest…"

A roaring cheer drowned Mary's weak protest of, "There isn't enough time to prepare!"

But Catherine had heard her and covered the elder woman's fretting hands with her own and said, "There is, Mary. Everyone will already be there, all in their best clothes, and I'm sure William already has the feast well in hand, what more do we need?"

"You need a dress, my child, and flowers…" It seemed that was all she could think of to add.

"I can wear my mother's dress, and I'm sure there will already be lots of flowers there, but I would rather carry one of Rebecca's beautiful Winterfest candles."

"Oh, she would love that!" Mary whispered happily.

As the two women chatted, Vincent looked to his father and asked, "Do you approve of our idea, Father?"

"Yes Vincent, I do. I think it's a wonderful idea. You should try and contact your brother to see if he can be here."

"I will do that, Father, thank you."

"Vincent, Devin might also be of help in contacting Joe for me. I was hesitant to ask Peter because of his connections to me and his more frequent visits to the tunnels."

"But since Devin lives out of town…" Vincent nodded. He could see his brother getting involved in something risky and dangerous, especially if it was to help Catherine whom he'd come to admire on his last visit home. "I will get word to him as quickly as possible."

Catherine smiled, and with a teasing glint in her eye, asked, "Do you think we should tell everyone the rest of our news or have they had as much as they can take for today?"

Vincent laughed at that and told her, "They are a pretty resilient group of people; I'd give it a chance." He pulled her back to her feet and then, seeing how small that still left her in that large room, surprised her by lifting her to stand on the bench she had just been sitting on. "However, I think it is your turn to make the announcement." Turning back to the room in general, he said, "If we could have everyone's attention one more time, Catherine has some news to share with all of you."

To be continued….


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Everyone fell silent looking at the tiny figure in tunnel garb. They were certainly more used to seeing her in Above clothing, but now that she was marrying Vincent maybe that would change too.

As Catherine placed one hand on Vincent's shoulder; it might have appeared to everyone else that it was to keep herself steady, but now that the Bond was restored Vincent knew it was to give herself courage. He was startled to sense that this wasn't about what the community would think of her having a child with someone not quite completely human, but that her concern was how this highly moral group would view her. She was worried they would think less of her for being pregnant before she and Vincent were married.

With reassurance radiating to her through the Bond, Vincent put his arm around her waist and silently urged her on.

Giving him a megawatt smile for his understanding, she turned back to the community and boldly told them, "Vincent and I are also expecting a child about the middle of June."

Needless to say, this once again caused a near riot in the room. Even though people had jobs to do, everything seemed to be put on hold that day. Lunch lasted over three hours and still Vincent and Catherine were able to eat very little because everyone wanted to talk to them. It wasn't until during a short lull in the visitors to their table that Vincent felt how tired Catherine was through the Bond. Calling himself all kinds of a fool for not noticing earlier, he got to his feet and simply announced, "Catherine needs to rest."

Helping his unresisting fiancée to her feet and guiding her from the room, they were followed out by many indulgent smiles. Vincent was caring for the woman he loved, and everyone was happy that it was once again possible. Talk about the wedding plans and about the baby went on long after Vincent and Catherine had left the room so William just kept the tea coming as he was busy getting dinner ready.

"Thank you for finding a graceful way out of there, Vincent. I could have stayed, but there are a lot of things that need to be dealt with regarding my kidnapping."

They were almost to his chamber by this time and Vincent couldn't help but protest, "Catherine, the reason I got us out of there was because I sensed how tired you were! You should rest."

She watched as he lowered the tapestry over the doorway as if he'd been doing it for years instead of just the second time in all the while she'd known him. "Maybe I am a little tired, but there is so much to be done. I have to let people know I am safe and alive. Peter, Jenny, and Joe for starters. But we will have to be careful, so knowing about me doesn't put them in danger. I mean I can't just go to my apartment to call them."

"We could have a message delivered to them through one of our Helpers, like the way I would send notes to you at work," Vincent suggested.

"That would be perfect for both Joe and Jenny. Joe's always ordering out for food, and I could send Jenny a book, that wouldn't look suspicious for a publisher to get, both of them could easily have notes in them. The problem is what to say so they don't react in such a way that if anyone watching them would become suspicious. In Joe's case especially because his boss Moreno, was involved in what happened."

"I am sure you will find the right words, Catherine. While you write your notes, why don't I contact Mr. Lee. He can send a telegram to Devin for me and also contact Peter to come Below at his first opportunity."

"Please make sure to tell him to take extra precautions," Catherine insisted.

"I will," he assured her and left her alone to compose her notes to Joe and Jenny.

To be continued….


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Catherine knew that the note to Jenny would be the easier of the two; so she started with that one. She chose a book from Vincent's shelf and on a sheet of borrowed paper wrote; 'Your old college buddy has emerged from a long sabbatical. Could you please meet me near the Central Park carousel just after sundown tonight? If that is not good for you I will wait for you each night until we hook up.' She would trust in Jenny's second sight, or just her friend's intelligence to know who the note was from. Catherine was sure Jenny would be at the carousel as soon as she possibly could.

Joe's note was so much more difficult because she had to ask him to believe some hard truths about his boss. She was having a rough time even knowing where to begin. Finally, she could find no way to tell him what she had to on paper. This kind of news needed to be delivered face to face; so she picked up her pen and just started writing; 'I don't think I ever told you how annoyed I was the first time you called me Radcliff, but before long I came to enjoy it because I saw it turn into a term of affection from you, and I can't even begin to tell you how very much I have missed hearing it in these last few months! We need to meet to talk about old times and books we've read. No one can know we are meeting for both our sakes. I am safe, but I need you to be as well. There is a bridge in Central Park near the carousel. If you can get there without being followed, I will have someone there waiting for you to bring you to me. 10pm tonight. 'R'

Vincent had finished with his trip to the tea shop, having successfully gotten off both of his messages. If things went as planned, tonight would be a very busy and probably stressful one for both Catherine and him. He was heading back to what he was beginning to think of as 'their' chamber to see that she got some rest. If that meant that he would have to pretend to nap in the middle of the day, so be it! He would do anything necessary for Catherine…and their…coming child.

Peter was the first to arrive after receiving the message from Vincent that he should come Below as soon as possible. With no more to go on than that, Dr. Alcott had feared that something had happened needing more medical help than Jacob Wells could handle. Maybe he was being summoned because Jacob himself needed medical care, but why wouldn't Vincent just say that in his note? The other thing he couldn't figure out was why the message advised that he take extra caution not to be seen coming Below? Oh well, he was sure there had to be a good reason, and he was sure that the sooner he got there the sooner he would find out what it was.

He arrived to find Jacob in his study reading, apparently in good health and not in the middle of some medical emergency. "Jacob, what in the world was the urgency in getting me down here?"

Putting his book aside, Jacob rose slowly with the help of his cane. "My friend, you are going to have to see this to believe it. Come with me." Father knew that Vincent had hoped to get Catherine to rest and was not surprised to arrive at his son's chamber to find the tapestry down.

Peter had been amazingly patient in not questioning what was going on as Jacob led him through the passageways to Vincent's chamber. However, when he saw Jacob about to violate the cardinal rule of not disturbing someone who had closed off the chamber in that manner, he couldn't help but protest, "Jacob! What are you doing? Vincent obviously wants privacy!"

"I know, but I also know they are expecting us," Jacob answered as he pulled aside the tapestry and entered.

"They?" Peter questioned.

To be continued….


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Jacob motioned his old friend in and Peter allowed his curiosity to take control and entered. He saw Vincent in bed, but he didn't look ill, nor was he asleep. Vincent's hearing had alerted him to the two men's presence even in his sleep and he woke, but didn't want to get up and disturb Catherine who lay sleeping in his arms. "Hello Peter. Thank you for coming so quickly," Vincent said very quietly.

"You don't look ill, Vincent, what was it you needed me for?" Peter asked as he still hesitated by the doorway.

Vincent shifted and pulled the quilt down just a bit revealing that he wasn't in bed alone. If that hadn't been enough to shock Peter in to speechlessness then seeing who was sharing his bed certainly did. Finally he gasped, "Cathy!?"

At the sound of her name Catherine stirred in Vincent's arms.

Tears were already running down the elder man's face. He wasn't just her doctor, he was more of a favorite Uncle to this precious woman. Although he hadn't wanted to even think it, much less voice the thought, in the face of Vincent's insistence that she was alive, as the days had turned into weeks and then almost months, Peter had privately grieved believing that Catherine Chandler was dead. Yet here she was! It looked like she was safe and sound and she was most certainly sleeping!

Vincent quietly saying her name had her eyes fluttering open and a smile appearing on her face as she saw him so near. "We have visitors," he told her gently and then was almost deafened at her squeal of joy when she saw Peter standing near the doorway.

He got a knee in the stomach as she slipped in her eagerness to climb over him to get to Peter. If not for his quick movement to the side he also would have had an elbow in his eye and a foot on a much more sensitive area! But, as he sat up on the edge of the bed, he watched indulgently as the woman he loved threw herself into the arms of another man. Peter was hugged and kissed and was happily doing the same in return.

"How?! When?!" was all he could manage to get out.

"Vincent found me late last night! Oh Peter, there's so much to tell you!" she exclaimed joyously.

Father had taken Vincent's large chair as the reunion was going on and smirked as he suggested that Peter might want to have a seat as well. When his old friend took the only other chair in the room, Catherine walked over and surprised everyone by sitting in Vincent's lap rather than on the bed next to him.

"Vincent and I are getting married and you have to be the one to give me away Peter!" she insisted.

"I'd be honored to, Cathy my dear, and may I say that it's about time!?"

"Actually you may, Peter. I had many fears that were holding me back from a real relationship with Catherine, but she has put them to rest now so we can at last move forward towards our happy life together."

"Have the two of you talked about children?" Peter asked, pleased for the two of them, but he knew Jacob's feelings about Vincent fathering children and wanted to find out where this would lead the young couple.

"We have, Peter, and think that mid June would be perfect." Catherine was trying not to giggle, but not succeeding very well.

"Mid June!...But that's only six months away!" Peter protested.

Vincent was blushing slightly as he informed Peter, "Catherine is already three months pregnant."

"Good heavens! You were right Jacob…it's a good thing I was sitting down!"

"I always know best!" Jacob informed him as Vincent and Catherine couldn't help but snort. Everyone laughed at that, even Father.

To be continued….


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

After what had happened at lunch, Father realized that if they wanted time to talk with Peter and bring him up to speed on everything they needed to, then their dinner would need to be a bit more private. So not long after he arrived some of William's best kitchen help carried in meals for the four of them.

They told Peter everything, from Catherine's boss being involved in her kidnapping, to the fact that their child's conception had taken place that night in the cave. Also from how Catherine would have to remain in hiding until it was discovered just how high up the corruption went, to the fact that the wedding was going to be in three weeks at Winterfest.

To his credit, Peter took it all very well. Even though he had been sure in his heart that Cathy was dead he had never been so glad to have been proven wrong. The four of them talked until Vincent rose and held out his hand to Catherine. It was time to go and see if Jenny Aaronson was at the carousel waiting for her college buddy.

Vincent hadn't been thrilled when Catherine told him that she intended to meet Jenny herself and had tried his best to talk her out of it. When it had become clear that he wasn't going to be able to do so, he had informed her that he would be going with her to the meeting. Then Catherine surprised him even more by responding, "Good! It will be the perfect time for the two of you to meet!"

"Meet?! Catherine you can't be serious!"

"I am, Vincent! Jenny is my best friend in all the world, other than you, and it had killed me over the last two years not to be able to tell her about you. We're getting married in three weeks and since she is going to be my maid-of-honor, the two of you need to meet. Do you think it would be better to wait till the wedding?"

He bowed his shaggy head knowing when he'd met a force greater than his own. How had he ever doubted that Catherine was not strong enough to be his mate? This woman had more courage than any five men he knew put together! "I shall be pleased to meet her, Catherine. I only hope she will feel the same."

"Jenny will love you! She wants me to be happy just as you do. She might even threaten you and make you promise to do so."

"I will try not to be afraid," he told her with a tongue in cheek attitude.

She grinned up at him, but still warned, "I wouldn't get too cocky! She may be little, but she's a fighter!"

"I shall endeavor to remember that," he'd promised and now it was time to head out to the long awaited meeting. The plan was for Vincent to make sure it was safe and no one else was around. He would stay in the background until Cathy and Jenny had a few minutes to reunite, then Catherine would introduce Vincent and if all went well, Jenny would be asked to come Below with them for her first visit.

Getting a book sent to her at work was nothing out of the ordinary for Jenny Aaronson, however the one that had arrived that afternoon was quite unusual. First, it hadn't arrived via UPS, Fed Ex., or by US mail, instead it came by private messenger. Then it was wrapped in brown paper, tied with twine, and there was no return address on it! Jenny was intrigued enough to open it right away.

The book turned out to be a very old leather-bound copy of "Great Expectations". Jenny was pretty sure that this was not a poor attempt at plagiary. Seeing that the front cover didn't completely lay flat, she opened it and discovered a note.

She barely managed to suppress her cry of joy as she read it, but there was no way she could keep her tears from flowing down her cheeks. She even let out a little giggle when she read the PS. Her 'college buddy' had asked; 'Please bring the book with you, it isn't mine to give you.'

To be continued….


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Jenny got to her feet, went to her office door and closed it, then did a dance of joy around the room. For the first time she was glad that she didn't have one of those offices that had a wall of windows so others could see in. Cathy Chandler was alive! And she was going to see her tonight! Jenny would have canceled ANY plans she'd had after reading that note and figured out that because of the odd meeting place, she was most likely going to finally get to meet Cathy's mystery man!

When she calmed down enough to think, her first thought was to call Joe Maxwell, but then with her hand on the phone receiver she suddenly knew that was a VERY bad idea. The hairs on the back of her neck had stood up warning her not to place the call. Jenny never ignored those kinds of feelings and figured that she would ask Cathy tonight why contacting Joe was such a bad idea.

The two of them, it seemed, had been the only ones that still believed Cathy was out there somewhere alive and normally she told Joe every clue or feeling that she had about Cathy's case as soon as she had them, but this time something was holding her back. After catching up with Cathy she would find out if her friend had any idea why.

There was very little light in the park near the carousel that was shut down for the winter months. She was very glad that she had thought to bring a flashlight! The light coating of snow on the ground let her know she was the only one to have come this way since it had fallen three days ago. It wasn't until she got to the side of the carousel away from the street that she saw two other sets of footprints. One was large and obviously booted, the other was much smaller. Jenny figured it had to be Cathy and her mystery man.

Vincent and Catherine had been at the carousel for about ten minutes when Vincent first heard Jenny approach. He had known Catherine's first reaction would have been to hurry into her friend's arms so he wisely hadn't said anything. However, he wasn't quite used to having their Bond working both ways and saw her grinning at him. "She's coming isn't she?" Catherine asked softly.

His nod was accompanied by a slightly embarrassed grin. "Don't worry Vincent, you'll get used to it," she reassured him with her hand on his arm. When they had arrived Vincent had made Catherine stay back until he was sure it was safe then he opened the building to let her go inside. Even though it wasn't all that cold for this late in the year, he wanted her out of the light breeze that was blowing, he didn't want to take any chances of her becoming ill. Catherine smiled at him loving being back under his protective presence.

Not long after Jenny had arrived Vincent told Catherine that it was safe, Jenny was alone. He faded into the darkness just far enough to be out of sight, but close enough to be there instantly if there was any trouble at all. So as Jenny approached the small side door to the carousel Catherine opened it just a crack and whispered her friend's name.

Jenny jumped in surprise then quickly turned towards Cathy's voice, seeing the door open, she hurried inside and a second later the two friends were in each other's arms. Vincent watched the tender reunion feeling everything Catherine experiencing through their Bond and wondered what would happen if Jenny's meeting with him didn't go well. Luckily Catherine was so wrapped up in her reunion with Jenny that she hadn't picked up on that thought from Vincent.

It took Catherine several minutes to tell Jenny all that had happened about the kidnapping. Vincent had heard every word, but was especially intrigued when Jenny told Catherine about her 'feeling' that she shouldn't contact Joe Maxwell when she had gotten her note from Cathy. He worried at Catherine's answer, "I'm afraid that if your feeling is right it, could mean the note I sent him might have put him in danger!"

To be continued….


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"Why, Cath?" Jenny asked.

"Because his boss was in on my kidnapping!" Catherine answered.

"Oh God!"

"I hope he can get to the meeting tonight, the longer he doesn't know about Moreno the worse things can get."

"He's clever, Cath. He'll find a way!" Jenny assured her friend.

"When did you get to know Joe so well?"

"Well, while you were missing we sort of leaned on each other. He cares for you a lot you know…"

"He's a very good friend, Jen."

"He'd like to be more…but that's not possible is it? You have someone else in your life."

"How did you…oh never mind! You always seem to know!" Cathy laughed.

"Someone who's hiding over there in the dark…" Jenny said with a nod of her head in Vincent's direction.

Vincent quietly stiffened. He knew he hadn't made any sounds, there was no way she could have known where he was, and yet she had nodded at exactly where he was standing.

Catherine's smile softened as she turned to face where Vincent was. She said, "Jen, I want you to meet Vincent, the love of my life and the man that I'm going to marry."

Jenny had been looking into the darkness for her first glimpse of Cathy's mystery man, but as her friend added that last bit of information to the introduction, her eyes left the darkness and snapped back to Cathy. "WHAT?!"

Cathy giggled at the look of astonishment on her friend's face, for once she had really surprised the woman who always seemed to know everything. "I'm getting married," she retold her friend, and then added, "In three weeks."

"Good grief, Cath!" Jenny exclaimed, throwing herself into Cathy's arms and hugging her tightly. "I'm so happy for you! But you're going to have to explain what the hurry is about, but for now get that man of your's out here so I can finally meet Mr. Right! He must be something pretty special for you to be in this much of a hurry!"

"He is, Jen! He is!" Catherine assured her and then she reached out a hand to beckon Vincent from his hiding place.

Slowly and carefully he came forward. His hood was pulled low hiding his face in shadows, only his long red-gold hair could be seen.

"Heavens! You're not shy are you? You won't last long with Cathy that way! Come over here and let me have a good look at you!" she insisted.

Vincent moved closer to the two women, but still kept his head down leaving his face in the shadows. "It isn't shyness, Ms. Aaronson, but rather concern for your reaction that keeps me hidden."

Then it was as if Jenny suddenly remembered that she was carrying a flashlight. It had been hanging from her wrist pointing at the ground while she and Cathy had talked. She took hold of it and swung it up hoping to get a look at this man with the dreamy voice.

Vincent instinctively moved away from the light inadvertently raising his head into Jenny's full view. Her gasp was all that he had feared and he immediately started to back away until he heard Jenny say, "Wow! You were right to keep him hidden away, Cath! I might have tried to steal him from you!"

Cathy laughed happily as she reached out to pull Vincent back into the pool of light. With her arms wrapped tightly around one of his, she asked, "Would you really try and take my baby's father away from me?"

"Catherine!" Vincent protested knowing that the plan had been to let Jenny get used to his unusual looks before telling her that Catherine was carrying his child.

"BABY?!" Jenny gasped and hugged both of them at once. "I'm going to be an Aunt! Oh this is so wonderful!"

With Catherine held so close to him there was no way that he could miss her shiver. Even though the building sheltered them from the wind, Catherine had still been through a huge ordeal over the last few weeks and this had left her in a weakened condition. "Catherine, we must get you out of the cold. Ms. Aaronson, if you will come with us the plan was to take you to my home and show you where Catherine will be living."

"I would love to Vincent…on one condition!"

"And that would be?" he inquired softly.

"That you stop calling Ms. Aaronson and start calling me Jenny!"

"All right, Jenny…will you be alright following me while I carry Catherine?"

Catherine's protests were ignored as Jenny assured Vincent that would be fine with her and Vincent swept her up into his arms. They quickly left the building and crossed the park to the drainage tunnel without being seen. Vincent was able to work the well known mechanism even with Catherine in his arms and they soon entered his world.

To be continued….


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Joe's day was not going well. His morning appointment had been late and that had made everything else run late. He had hoped that by skipping lunch and working through that time he could finally get his day back on track, but it just wasn't to be. It was days like this that he realized just how much work Cathy Chandler used to do. They had finally hired two new people over Joe's protests that she would be back and her job needed to be waiting for her. But after six weeks Moreno had insisted that they had to have help. However even the two new people combined didn't seem to get as much work done as Radcliff did.

He had known that he had feelings for her almost since that first day she'd arrived in the office, but she was always so private and reserved. Then he saw the kind of man she dated when Elliot Burch started coming around and when even he couldn't hold her interest for long Joe knew he didn't stand a chance with her. But it hadn't been until her disappearance that he had admitted to himself that he was in love with her. That was a big part of the reason he had searched for her so obsessively. That and the fact that she was the best damned worker they had at the office. The fact that even though she had gone to that fancy school he teased her about, she had proven herself as one of them!

Today it had been exactly six weeks since she'd vanished. He couldn't get her off of his mind. Some days were easier than others, but today for some reason she was at the front of his mind all day. It made it almost impossible to get anything done, all he could do was think of Radcliffe.

Moreno had been riding him hard to give up on the search for Cathy, but Joe just couldn't let it go. He knew she was out there somewhere alive and in need of help. The only one that seemed to believe the way he did about her was her college friend Jenny Aaronson. The two of them had become close in their search for Cathy. The problem was that even though he had reluctantly cut back on the active search for her, his work was still suffering. When he had been late with the report Moreno had needed for a meeting he was called into his boss' office for the dressing down he knew he deserved. Because his were the only notes on the case, Moreno then insisted that Joe had to sit in on the meeting. Now he would never catch up on the days work and would be starting tomorrow already behind too!

Ten minutes into the meeting there was a light tap on the door. It opened and one of those bike messenger kids poked his head in. "I have a delivery for Joe Maxwell."

Moreno motioned the kid in with a wave of his hand, pointing at Joe with a frown. When Benny plunked down the sandwich in from of Joe he looked up in surprise and declared, "I didn't order this!"

Benny was about to answer when Moreno griped, "You know you're really losing it when you don't even remember ordering food, Joe!"

The kid left quickly and the meeting got back on track. As Joe sat there in confusion knowing that he hadn't ordered the sandwich he shrugged and opened the wrapper anyway. Since he'd skipped his meal he was hungry, so what did it matter if he ate the mystery sandwich? At his first bite into what looked like home-baked bread he registered that this had to be one of the best sandwiches he'd ever eaten. He was trying to listen to what Moreno was droning on about as he checked out the plain brown paper wrapping this delight had come in. He wanted to know where it had come from because he certainly wanted to order from there in the future! Disappointed at not finding the name of the place, Joe figured he would have to track down the messenger kid to discover what he wanted to know.

Expecting his second bite to be as good as his first had been Joe's mystery sandwich got a lot stranger! He bit down on a piece of paper! His exclamation of surprise didn't go unnoticed by those in the room and neither did the fact that he pulled a folded up piece of paper from his mouth. With an embarrassed grin Joe opened the note and quickly read it. There was no way he could keep his reaction to the message it contained a secret.

To be continued….


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Jenny could no more stop herself from pelting Vincent with questions than she could have stopped breathing. 'Where were they going? How long would it take to get there? Was there anyone else living here? How long had Vincent lived there? And what was that constant tapping noise she could hear?' She had many more questions too about Cathy and Vincent, like: How had they met? How long had they known each other? And even more about the wedding and coming baby. She fully intended to get answers to each and every one of them before she left that night!

Vincent had been answering her questions about his world as they walked along. She was told that they were going to the central hub of the tunnel chambers, specifically to his father's study. It was only a few minutes walk he assured her. Yes, other people lived Below but the actual number varied at any given time, at the present time there were about one hundred living in the tunnels. Vincent admitted that he'd lived there all of his life from the time he'd been found as an infant and brought to the man who became his father. The tapping noise was their way of communicating. People would tap out messages on the pipes letting the others know what was happening. He smiled and told her that was how Father knew the three of them were on their way to his study right now.

Suddenly the passageway ended and Vincent stepped into a room that looked to be filled wall to wall and nearly floor to ceiling with books. The large room was lit by dozens of candles as well as randomly placed oil lamps. Vincent strode right in and placed Catherine down in a comfortable looking chair near an elderly man and woman.

The man started asking questions about why Catherine was being carried and her health. The woman quickly replaced the coat Vincent had taken off Catherine with a fuzzy shawl and covered her lap with a blanket, seconds later, she pressed a hot cup of tea into Catherine's hands.

Catherine looked up from the cup of tea to see Jenny still hesitating in the doorway. Vincent followed her gaze and immediately started to apologize. Reaching out for Jenny's hand to help her down the three metal steps into the room with the rest of them he noticed the tears in her eyes. "Jenny?" he questioned softly.

"If there had been any doubt in my mind that Cathy could be happy here, seeing how you and your parents rushed to care for her tells me all that I need to know!"

"Let me introduce you. Jenny, this is my father, Jacob Wells, but everyone here Below calls him Father." Vincent let the two of them shake hands.

Father said, "Welcome to our world, Ms. Aaronson."

Then Vincent brought her to stand in front of Mary and told her, "You were correct in the fact that this wonderful woman is the mother of my heart, but we all call her Mary."

Mary's eyes shimmered with tears at Vincent's words, and she greeted Jenny with a warm smile. "Have a seat here next to Catherine and let me get you a cup of tea too, child."

"I'm sorry if I offended anyone with my comment," Jenny apologized as she took the offered seat.

The first to respond was Mary, "How could a mistake of love, offend?"

"Yes quite so!" Father declared and Vincent just smiled and nodded as he took his place on Catherine's other side.

"This is an amazing library, but it looks like you could use some more shelves!" Jenny grinned.

"Actually this is my study, Ms. Aaronson. The library is in another chamber."

"Wow! You love books like I do then!"

The two of them went on to talk about their mutual love of books for several minutes. Catherine reached out and gave Vincent's hand a squeeze as her friend managed to charm Father. When the debate started over who the greatest poet of all time started Catherine couldn't hold back a giggle.

"Oh gosh! I'm sorry for dominating the conversation that way!" Jenny exclaimed. "We should be talking about these two crazy kids getting married and having a baby!"

Catherine was happy to change the subject to something so very dear to her heart and said, "We are going to be married in three weeks at Winterfest."

To be continued….


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

"I am guessing that this Winterfest thing is held down here?" Jenny asked.

"Yes, it is our celebration of the founding of our world," Vincent told her.

"Sounds very neat, but can we be ready in three weeks?"

"All we need is dresses for us, everything else is already in place," Catherine assured her. "I am hoping that my mother's dress will fit, but with me already starting to show, I don't know if that will happen."

"We can make alterations, Catherine dear," Mary volunteered.

"Thank you, Mary," Catherine sighed. "Then we just need to worry about a dress for Jenny."

"Actually, I have a great dress that I bought on a whim a few weeks ago and haven't had a chance to wear yet."

"That's wonderful," Catherine cheered.

"So you're showing already?" Jenny asked, eyeing Cathy's figure but not seeing anything between her loose tunnel clothes and the blanket and shawl covering her. "That means you're about four months along right?"

"No, just over three," Catherine answered, then unable to resist the urge to see if she could get Vincent to blush added, "But Vincent IS so large…"

His eyes had merely widened at her statement, and Catherine mentally sighed that her taunt hadn't worked until Jenny started to choke on the sip of tea she'd just taken. Then he blushed. In fact, he actually turned beet red when Jenny looked him up and down and gasped out, "I can see what you mean!"

Father looked flustered and unaccustomedly at a loss for words. So, Mary quickly changed the topic of conversation back to the wedding.

As it neared the time for the proposed meeting with Joe, they discussed the best way to handle it. Jenny offered to be the one to meet him on the bridge although Vincent would only agree to that after insisting he make sure Joe hadn't been followed first. Catherine would wait out of the wind in the drainage tunnel. Joe would be brought there where they could talk and see how well he was taking everything she had to tell him. They were going to leave it up in the air as to whether Joe would be introduced to Vincent or not. Catherine would make the call as she assessed his reaction to everything else.

Because of everything that they had talked about, Jenny hadn't gotten a guided tour of the tunnels, and as the three of them walked towards the park entrance, she demanded to know how soon she could come back for it. Catherine smiled and asked what she was doing on Saturday. Jenny assured her friend that she was completely free. Even though she hated waiting the two days till then, they made plans for Jenny to spend the day and even the whole weekend if she wanted.

Vincent opened the secret door and then the gate to the park entrance tunnel. He waited until both Catherine and Jenny were through before closing it securely behind them. Motioning them to stay where they were, he left to scout out Joe's arrival.

Earlier in the day when the note from Catherine had arrived in Joe's sandwich, he had unfolded the paper and read it while everyone in the meeting looked on.

She was alive!

She was safe!

She was contacting him!

She was worried about his safety!

He couldn't stop the tears from pouring down his cheeks as all those thoughts hit him at once.

As his co-workers and boss watched this unusual reaction, Joe tried to comprehend why she felt the need for such secrecy and caution, and then there was the concern for his safety…suddenly it hit him…this brought to mind something he had begun to consider when all of his efforts to find her had met dead ends. He had thought there might be a leak somewhere in the office, was this what her note was trying to tell him? It had to be! There was a leak in the DA's office!

Moreno's voice interrupted his chain of thought, "Care to share the news with the rest of us, Joe?"

Looking around the room at the curious faces staring back at him, Joe wiped his eyes as he considered those present. Everyone who was anyone was there in the meeting. The only office staff not there were secretaries and gophers. If there was a leak, and he was now almost certain there was, it had to be someone in this room! Thinking quickly for some explanation as to his reaction he blurted out the first thing that popped into his head, "It's from my girlfriend …ummmm she's NOT pregnant!"

To be continued….


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

One of the new employees tittered and asked, "So, were those tears of relief or sadness?"

His Italian heritage asserted itself and he decided to brazen it out, "Relief! I was going to break up with her anyway!"

With a grunt, Moreno griped, "Well, if the drama is over, could we get back to the matter at hand?"

Everyone nodded as Joe quietly slipped the note into his pocket to reread later.

After the meeting, Joe packed up his briefcase and headed home. He needed time out of the office to try and figure out who the leak was. Hours later he was still no closer to 'who' than he had been. He had considered each and every person in the office and had ruled out each one of them for one reason or another. He only hoped that Radcliff had the answer rather than just guesses.

Vincent had done two complete circuits of the area surrounding the bridge and then stood in the shadows near the drainage tunnel as he watched Joe arrive. Sure that he was alone, Vincent slipped into the tunnel to tell Jenny that Joe had arrived. Jenny hugged Cathy then started forward. Vincent placed a hand on her arm and advised, "Know that I'll be close by."

"I know." She smiled at him giving him a quick hug too and then hurried out so Joe didn't think no one was coming.

She was wearing a borrowed cloak with a hood that she'd kept pulled up until she saw that Joe had noticed her. Lowering it she waited until he showed signs of recognizing her in the darkness before approaching the rest of the way.

"Jenny!? What are you doing here? Where's Radcliff?"

"Calm down, Joe! She's waiting for us. I was sent to bring you to her."

"Great! Let's go!" he moved toward her and started past her in the direction she'd come from.

She grabbed his arm as he tried to brush past her, "Joe, wait! You need to listen for a minute. Cathy's been through a lot, and you're not going to like what she has to tell you. You need to take it easy on her!"

Joe looked at her almost as if he didn't understand the words she was saying. He wondered what she thought he was going to do to her friend and then Jenny said something that stopped him cold.

"Joe, she's pregnant."

"What?! Oh god no! You mean they raped her?!" he gasped out, going pale at the thought.

"No!" Jenny cried, seeing his pain. "She's three months along. Vincent is the father."

"Vincent?! That's the guy from all the stuff in her apartment!"

"Yeah, I've met him and he's really great, but I just wanted you to know so you wouldn't upset her."

"What kind of guy do you think I am, Jenny?"

"I know what kind of guy you are, Joe Maxwell! You are the kind of guy that is in love with her!"

"Damn! I didn't know it showed!" he replied, hanging his head.

"I won't tell anyone. Come on now, she's waiting." Jenny took him by the hand and led him to the drainage tunnel where Cathy was waiting. She had no way of knowing about Vincent's extraordinary hearing, and that he'd been able to hear every word she and Joe had said.

Vincent had known that both Joe Maxwell and Elliot Burch had feelings for Catherine, but he still couldn't help the twinge of jealousy he'd felt at how easily Joe had talked about feelings that he had thought were secret. He watched and listened as the two of them entered the tunnel.

"Joe," Catherine said softly as the two of them entered.

"Radcliff!" he replied pulling her into his arms for a hug. "Thank God, you're alright!"

Hugging him back, Catherine couldn't help but let her tears flow. "It's so good to see you again!"

Having a hard time dealing with the emotional intensity of the reunion, he reverted to blustering, "Well of course it is!"

Jenny rolled her eyes and swatted his arm at that, and then both she and Cathy giggled. Joe couldn't resist and laughed along with them. Regaining control, he figured it was time to get serious. "Jenny tells me you have information I'm not going to like. I'm pretty sure that it has to do with a leak at the office."

To be continued….


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

"It does, Joe. As I was running from the guys trying to grab me, I managed to get back into the elevator, and when it opened, I thought I was safe, but…there's just no easy way to tell you…it was Moreno! He was standing there with two more goons and watched as they took me away."

"Shit! No wonder he pushed so hard to get me to drop the investigation! God, Radcliff, I'm so sorry I got you so involved with this! If I hadn't told you about that damned book, none of this would have happened! Did they get the book? Did you have it on you?"

"No, that's why they kept me, they were dru…questioning me about it, trying to find out what I had learned from it and where it was."

"Well, where was it? When you went missing, we went through your apartment with a fine tooth comb looking for clues to your whereabouts. It wasn't there, and I know it wasn't at the office…"

"I took it to the only person that I thought would have any hope of deciphering it."

"Burch! Why didn't I think of that!" Joe exclaimed. "If he's had it all this time, maybe he's cracked it! I'll go and see him first thing in the morning."

"No, Joe!"

"Why not?"

"Because you need to deal with Moreno, and if you are being watched, then you would lead them right to the book. Let me contact Elliot and find out what he knows. Then I can get the book and whatever information he has to you."

"Are you sure that's safe? You're still taking a lot of risk here, Radcliff!"

"I'm safe, Joe. I'm staying with V…that friend I told you about that had been sick…remember?"

"Vincent?"

Catherine gave a start of surprise and then turned to look at Jenny.

"Hey!" she protested, "I wanted him to know you were being taken care of!"

"Joe, I'd really like you to meet him, but I need to know if it's possible for you to separate Joe from the Assistant District Attorney?"

"Well, I never thought about it before…but for you kid…anything!"

"No, Joe, really? This isn't a joke, it's as serious as the Moreno issue."

"Yeah sure! Really, Radcliff, I swear it will never go any farther than this tunnel! You have my word!"

Vincent had been listening to what was being said and knew this was Catherine's way of leading up to introducing him to Joe. He stepped into the tunnel entrance with his hood pulled up even though he knew Joe's back was to him. He began to speak, "Catherine has wanted to share this secret with you for quite some time, Mr. Maxwell, but it wasn't her secret alone to tell. She was protecting me and my world, but now she is the one in need of protection."

Joe had spun around at the first sound of Vincent's voice and had taken one step back at the sheer size of the imposing figure in the hooded cloak. Whether he was frightened or had instinctively been protecting the women, no one knew, but as yet, he hadn't seen Vincent's face. The only light came from the streetlights in the park, so was all behind him, all Joe could see was a very large silhouette.

"I'd protect her with my life!" Joe declared.

"As would I," Vincent assured him.

"So you're, Vincent?" Joe questioned.

"Yes," he replied simply. "The secret Catherine has kept is about why I must stay hidden. My world is a secret one and we all protect each other there."

"And why do you stay there?"

"Because my appearance frightens most people," Vincent answered as he moved his hands up to pull back his hood. As he did, Catherine stepped forward to take her place at his side, silently offering her support to him. Joe watched as the hood was lowered. The first thing he noticed was the long blond hair. He wouldn't have thought Catherine Chandler would go for the long-haired type. He even had a split second to think that he would have grown his hair long for her if she had asked him to. Then that face appeared!

To be continued….


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

It was hard, but he stood his ground. Joe wanted to back away, and he was sure his knees were shaking, but then he looked at Cathy and saw the pleading look in her eyes. She was silently begging him to accept the…man she loved…and if Jenny was right, the guy who had fathered the child she was expecting.

Looking at Vincent again suddenly a lot of things fell into place. All those unexplained 'animal' attacks. All those times when Radcliff had managed to pull herself out of situations that would have gotten Wonder Woman killed. This…man was the answer to all those unexplained happenings.

The silence had only lasted a minute even though it seemed like an eternity. Then Joe held out his hand and said, "You can call me Joe, and I have to say that your appearance does explain a lot. I hope that as a friend of Rad…Cathy's, you'll accept me as one as well."

Vincent took a step forward to take Joe's extended hand while Catherine looked on with a relieved smile. "It's good to finally meet you, Joe," he said with a smile.

"Whoa!" Joe exclaimed getting a glimpse of Vincent's fangs as he smiled. "How in the hell do you eat with those…let alone kiss?!"

Vincent looked startled, then blushed.

Jenny giggled.

Catherine laughed and then assured Joe, "As you can see from his size, he doesn't go hungry, and as for the other…well, a lady doesn't kiss and tell!"

"Well, I'm guessing he manages just fine since Jenny spilled the beans and said you were pregnant."

"Joe!" Jenny gasped.

"Yes, Vincent and I are expecting, Joe. I'm just lucky that with all the drugs they gave me they don't seem to have hurt the baby."

"Wow, yeah, that would be awful! I really am glad that you're okay, Radcliff."

"I know, Joe, thanks. Listen, I'm sure you're curious about Vincent's world, if it's not too late for you, we could give you a brief tour."

"I have a lot to do to take Moreno down. Maybe another time?"

"Jenny is coming down on Saturday, why don't you come together?"

"Sounds good. Jenny, give me a call and let me know when and where to meet you."

"Alright, Joe."

"I should get going…" he hesitated a bit, unsure of just how to take his leave. It was taken out of his hands when both women took turns hugging him and Vincent once again offered his hand.

Shaking Vincent's hand, Joe couldn't stop himself from wondering about this man/creature Catherine was involved with. He would sure have a lot to think about tonight, but all he said was, "It was good to meet you, Vincent."

"And you, Joe."

He left and Vincent was alone with the two women. Jenny looked at them both and was having a hard time holding back her tears. "I am so happy for the two of you!" She hugged Cathy and then poked Vincent in the chest, "You take care of her now, you hear?"

"I shall, Jenny," he promised with a smile. If this had been anyone he'd known longer he would have offered a hug, but since they had just met that night he hesitated.

Sensing his feelings through the Bond that was finally working both ways, Catherine, with a grin of understanding, said, "Go ahead, Vincent. She'll love it!"

Taking Catherine at her word, he embraced the surprised Jenny and seconds later felt her arms come up to return the hug. When it ended, Jenny turned to Cathy and said, "Wow, he's a great hugger!"

"I know!" Catherine answered smugly.

With a shake of her head Jenny left the two of them alone and headed home.

Vincent opened the secret door and guided Catherine safely inside, once there he closed it again and then tested their Bond to see how tired she was. He discovered that although weary there was a determination in her to walk back to the home tunnels under her own steam. So instead of sweeping her up in his arms as he had planned to do, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders to give her any support she would allow.

"So how will you contact Elliot?" he asked quietly as they walked towards his chamber.

To be continued….


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

"I'm not sure, Vincent. I don't think Benny would even be able to get close to him. The only people he knows of from Below are Father and Mouse. There's no way I want to get them involved in this, it's much too dangerous. I'm at a loss…" she admitted with a sigh.

"Catherine, if Mouse could go to his office with one of those blueprint tubes, do you think Elliot would remember that Mouse that asked for you as his lawyer?"

"I'm sure he would, but what of the danger?"

"All Mouse would be doing is delivering your message to him. There shouldn't be any danger in that."

"Are you sure about this, Vincent? I would never forgive myself if anything happened to Mouse!"

"As long as all he is doing is delivering a package, I'm sure it will be safe."

"Well, alright then. We'd need a place to meet. Elliot knows about the park entrance, that's where I took him out that night his father was killed…"

"I think you need to meet with him as soon as possible, and at the drainage tunnel you would need to wait for dark. What about the back room at Mr. Lee's Tea Shop? You could safely get there through the tunnels, and I could be nearby in case anything happened. Would it be too odd for Elliot to go there for lunch?"

Catherine giggled merrily at the thought of Elliot in the quaint little tea shop as she remembered his idea of an 'at work lunch' that he had brought to her office once. She would just have to hope that anyone watching Elliot would view his choice of lunch place as eccentric! "I think that could work, but that would mean we need to get Mouse ready to go in the morning."

"I know he will want to help, Catherine. He was one of the biggest helpers in the search for you. He cares for you a great deal."

"I love him too, Vincent. He's like the little brother I never had! We just need to make sure he is well coached and knows not to say too much."

Vincent chuckled, he had never known Mouse to say much…the wrong things at times, but the young man was hardly a chatterbox. "We will stress how important it is that he says exactly what we tell him to."

"Yes," she agreed on another sigh and Vincent could tell she'd reached the end of her strength. If they hadn't been just a few feet from his chamber he would have lifted her into his arms and carried her the rest of the way. Instead he moved his arm from her shoulders to her waist, so she could lean on him more.

Once in his chamber she sank down onto the bed and tried to remove her shoes. When even that proved too much of an effort, she just let herself fall back across the bed.

"Let me help you," Vincent offered. He had removed his cloak as she struggled with her shoes, but he now quickly moved to the bed and took them off for her. The wrap she had worn to protect her from the cold had fallen on the bed when she'd sat down. He laid it over a chair and then lifted her into his arms to slide her under the covers. When he'd tucked her in, he started to move away.

Catherine's hand reached out for his. "Please don't go. I know you haven't gotten much sleep looking for me and then caring for me. Please, Vincent, come to bed with me."

Knowing that she was asking for nothing more than to be held through the night, Vincent still hesitated at this intimacy. A short nap like they'd shared that afternoon was one thing, but to hold her in his arms all night? Like lovers would? Then he remembered the child she was carrying. The child that had never really been far from his thoughts since he'd learned about it, and had to face the fact that they were already lovers, or had been at least once.

As he stood there trying to process all this information, his eyes met her pleading glance and all his resistance melted. How could he refuse her anything? She was the mother of his unborn child! She had already given so much for their dream to become reality, how could he withhold anything that she desired from her?

To be continued….


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Removing his padded vest and thick sweater, he sat on the end of the bed to remove his boots. Standing once again, he removed his heavy leather belt and then lifted the covers to climb in beside her.

"Vincent, wouldn't you be more comfortable in your regular nightwear?"

Still in his thermal undershirt and trousers, he had fewer layers on than he usually allowed whenever he was close to her. Just the thought of one layer of cotton between his body and hers shook him to the core, even knowing she was still fully clothed.

"I will be fine, Catherine. Thank you for being concerned though."

She sighed at his answer, knowing she was too tired to wage that fight tonight. She vowed one day very soon they would face all of his fears together. As he settled down, she rolled over and snuggled into his arms. Vincent had never felt so at peace as the two of them drifted off to sleep.

The next morning they asked Mouse at breakfast to come back to their chamber with them, and he beamed with joy at being asked to help them with a project. The reality however was not quite as joyous. Every time Catherine and Vincent explained the next step in the plan the younger man had several suggestions of his own to add, each of them more far fetched or more outlandish than the last.

Finally Vincent took hold of his eager young friend's shoulders and, looking him deeply in the eyes, said, "Mouse, this is Catherine's plan and it should be carried out the way she wants it to be done…don't you think?"

Seeing the seriousness in Vincent's eyes, Mouse looked over at Catherine and saw the worry in hers. Making one of the few 'adult' decisions of his life, Mouse took a deep breath and said, "Okay good…okay fine…do it Catherine's way. She better than smart anyway!"

The other two gave a relieved laugh at that and went over the plan one more time. Making Mouse repeat it back to them to be sure he had it down, the two males then left to find the cardboard tube Mouse was sure he had in his workshop, while Catherine was left behind to compose the note that would be taken to Elliot.

Knowing that Mouse would move heaven and earth to make sure no one but Elliot saw the note, she knew she didn't have to write it in code. But there was still the dilemma of just what and how to say it. She had barely finished writing it when Vincent and Mouse returned to the chamber.

Mouse proudly showed off the rather beaten up tube and Catherine admired it as she slid the note inside. "Thank you for doing this, Mouse," she said as she handed the tube back to him and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

His eyes widened and he almost forgot to breathe. Vincent looked on and wondered if that was how he had looked the first time Catherine had kissed him? Then he wondered if Mouse's 'like' of Catherine might be more of a crush than feelings for an older sister.

Mouse's hand came up to cover the spot on his cheek as he blushed. Then with a little more force than he intended, he launched himself at Catherine hugging her fiercely. "Mouse glad you back! Glad for Vincent! Glad for all! Glad about baby too!"

With a tender smile, Catherine thanked him and he left to deliver the important package.

"He's so sweet," Catherine said as Mouse disappeared.

"He loves you," Vincent stated, wondering to himself if he was testing her reaction to the statement.

"Yes, Vincent, he does, as he loves you and Jamie…maybe not Father who is stricter with him, but Mouse is capable of very deep emotions. I have a feeling that one day he and Jamie might be almost as happy together as you and I are."

"Mouse and Jamie? Do you really think so, Catherine? He's so…innocent, and Jamie is such a tomboy."

"I've seen looks of interest passing between them. It may take them some time to get there, but I'm sure they will. After all, allowances must be made for 'innocent' men," she grinned cheekily at him.

To be continued….


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

"You have made enough allowances from me, my dear Catherine. As soon as you are well again, I would like to explore our love in the most complete sense of the word."

"Oh Vincent! I want that too! I'm sure that I'm well enough now, the only problem seems to be how quickly I tire out."

"Catherine, we have waited this long, we can wait until your strength has returned. I just wanted you to know that I will no longer allow my fears to keep me from loving you completely."

"I am looking forward to that, Vincent, but now I'd better get changed for my meeting with Elliot."

"I will…ummmm, go and tell Father what our plan is and that we won't be at lunch."

With a resigned sigh, as he hurried out of the chamber, she wondered if he would ever feel comfortable with her in a 'couples' setting. It wasn't as if she thought he needed to watch her change clothes, but she also hoped that one day he wouldn't run like a scared rabbit at the prospect.

Vincent sensed her emotions as he walked along towards Father's study and wondered as Catherine had if there would ever come a day when he felt an eagerness for those kinds of things instead of facing them with a mind full of dread.

He was still insisting to Father how important this meeting with Elliot Burch was when Catherine arrived dressed and ready to go. Because it was still unsafe for her to return to her apartment to get any of her clothes she had been wearing tunnel garb since her rescue. However, she felt that wouldn't be appropriate to meet Elliot in, so as much as she hated to don the clothes she had been kidnapped in, and forced to wear for all the weeks of her captivity, they were the only Above clothes available to her.

They had been laundered and Mary had repaired the tears that had happened when she'd been captured. Catherine knew after this she would never wear them again. If it was left to her she would have burned them, but knowing how thrifty the tunnel community was she knew that would be considered highly wasteful. So instead, she would give them to Mary and ask her to cut them up so the could find their way into quilts or be used to patch other clothes.

"I'm ready, Vincent," she announced softly.

"Catherine, are you sure about this?" Father asked. "You know that Mr. Burch's tower nearly destroyed our world."

"In all fairness to Elliot, Father, he didn't know that," Catherine answered.

"Still, I guess my concern is…can this man be trusted?"

Catherine was surprised when Vincent answered before she could. "Father, Catherine has already entrusted him with this book, she must get it back to help Joe Maxwell take down his corrupt boss."

"I know you will be near, Vincent, but the danger to you during the daylight hours is greatly increased."

"Father, there shouldn't be any danger at all! Mouse will simply deliver the note asking Elliot to meet me…"

"Mouse?!" Father interrupted to exclaim. Vincent had not told him that part of the plan!

Exchanging a guilty look with Vincent for having spilled the beans, Catherine tried to smooth things over by saying, "He is just delivering a note, Father. Nothing bad will come of it."

"Unless he 'finds' something to 'borrow' along the way!" Father sighed, sinking weakly into a nearby chair.

"Father, Mouse was well rehearsed and knows just what to do. We must have faith in him," Vincent insisted.

"I hope that you are right, Vincent. Now you two should go so you aren't late. But I expect a full report as soon as you return."

"Yes Father," Catherine and Vincent answered in unison. They shared a laugh over that as they walked towards the meeting.

Elliot Burch looked up from the file he was trying to read with a frown. There was something going on in the outer office that shouldn't have been. It wasn't that there hadn't ever been arguments out there in the past; in fact some of them had even gotten loud and volatile. This, however, wasn't a disagreement or an argument, this could only be described as a ruckus, and a ruckus shouldn't have been taking place in a high powered upscale office such as Elliot Burch expected his to be.

To be continued….


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

There was a high pitched male voice demanding to see him. It almost sounded like a child. He could hear his assistant insisting that no one got in to see Mr. Burch without an appointment. Elliot was just about to go back to his reading, figuring that the problem would be resolved even if his assistant had to call security, or at least that was until he heard the child-like voice claim, "I know Catherine Chandler!"

Elliot was on his feet and half way across his large office before he even realized he was moving. He threw open the door to see a teenaged male dressed like a street urchin brandishing a blueprint tube and practically hopping up and down with agitation.

His assistant and the boy spotted him in the doorway at the same time and both started speaking at once. Elliot held up a hand and both stopped instantly, however the boy tried to run to him while holding out the tube, as his body guards jumped to intercept him. Once again he held up his hand, this time to stop the body guards. Turning to the boy, he asked, "How do you know Cathy Chandler?"

"She WAS my lawyer!" Mouse answered as he'd been coached to by Catherine and Vincent. He had been told to loudly stress the word 'was'.

"You're the kid from the construction site that she came to me about! Come in," Elliot invited.

Mouse threw a triumphant look over his shoulder at the assistant and guards, knowing when he had won, as he followed Elliot into the office. Once inside with the door closed he looked around the large room for anyone else that might be there. He had never seen a room this big that had no one else in it, but Catherine had stressed that he not give the tube to Elliot unless he was alone.

"What are you doing?" Elliot asked.

"Catherine said 'be sure he is alone' before I give you this!" Mouse insisted.

"You've talked to Cathy? Recently?!" the older man demanded.

"Does that mean after breakfast?"

"Today?!" Elliot gasped eagerly.

Mouse nodded and handed Elliot the tube. He didn't understand why the Tower Man looked like he was about to cry.

Elliot was torn between tearing the tube open and questioning this boy who had so recently seen Cathy. He chose the latter, the note would still be there, but this boy looked ready to bolt. "Is she alright? Where is she? Is she in a safe place?"

Mouse wasn't sure what to do, he had been told to give this man the tube and leave, but he was asking questions about Catherine. Mouse didn't know if he should answer or not.

"Please! At least tell me if she is okay?" Elliot begged.

Mouse remembered how worried Vincent was when Catherine was missing. This man had the same look on his face as Vincent did when he was talking about Catherine, so nodding, he said, "She okay good, okay fine. Read note in tube. Mouse go now." With that he headed for the door leaving Elliot with many questions unanswered. He was only still for a moment before ripping the tube open to find Cathy's message. So many things were going through his mind at once, but the main one was that she WAS alive and she was contacting him!

He didn't even look at the rolled up blueprint that slid into his hand when he opened the tube, all he could focus on was the ivory colored piece of folded paper. He unfolded the note and devoured her words with his eyes. He was sadly disappointed at the lack of any personal aspect to the message.

The note read: Elliot, I am safe now and as you might have guessed, the book was the reason I was taken. We need to meet so I can get it back. I hope you have had some success in deciphering it. Please meet me today for lunch. It's urgent I get the book back as soon as possible. I will be at Mr. Lee's Tea Shop in Chinatown at noon. He has a private back room where we can talk undisturbed. I know you go nowhere without your guards. But, just this once, could you leave them out front? I assure you, you will be safe. Catherine.

To be continued….


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Elliot read the note over three times in the vain hope that he had missed something personal, but it wasn't there. Once again his mind was a buzz with speculation. She said she was safe, but not where she was hiding. Was she with HIM? This Vincent person? The other man that she had told him about, but whose name he hadn't known until Cleon searched her apartment for any clues to where she might have been.

He still had dreams about that night at the dock…his last words to his father…the helicopter blowing up…running for their lives…the sounds above them as they hid in the sewer…Cathy leading him through those sewers as if she knew them well…the sense that there was someone else there watching over the two of them…and the kiss!

At first she hadn't reacted to it, but then for just an instant he knew he'd felt her respond. Then just as he was going to pull her closer, she pulled away. Later she told him there was someone else. His heart still ached over those words. He woke up many times in a cold sweat with those words ringing in his ears.

Well, she wanted her book back and he wanted answers. Either both of them got what they wanted today, or neither would! Checking his watch, he took a moment to burn her note in his ashtray. Next he went to his wall safe, dialed the combination and pulled out the infamous black book as well as the sheaf of papers it was laying on. Then he grabbed his suit coat from the back of his chair and hurried out of the office. Passing his assistant's desk, he called out to cancel the rest of his day and headed to the elevator with his guards falling into place behind him.

Catherine and Vincent arrived early at the tea shop. They needed to let Mr. Lee know what was happening. He immediately offered to close the shop for just them, but neither of them thought it was wise. Business should look as normal as possible they suggested. Agreeing to whatever they wanted, Mr. Lee left the two of them alone in the back room.

"Catherine, will you tell Elliot about me?"

"I don't know, Vincent. Knowing that he has feelings for me, I'm sure that would hurt him."

"He will want to know where you are staying to assure your safety."

"If he asks I will simply tell him that I am with the man that I love. I told him about you before."

"Catherine, if it were me in his place I would want to know more than that."

"Yes Vincent, but you would be reluctant to ask me."

"Not if it involved your safety!" he assured her.

"We have already let Jenny and Joe in on the secret, if we tell Elliot it will hardly seem like a secret anymore…"

"Catherine, follow your heart in this, but remember his heart is involved as well."

"Vincent, how can you be so generous? I can't tell you how jealous I was when Lisa came back into your life!"

"It is easy, Catherine. I simply put myself in his place and know what I would need to know. At long last I have come to the realization that your love for me is absolute, and there is no need for jealousy when I know I am the only one in your heart."

She smiled gently at him and let her hand come to rest on her tummy. "Not the only one any longer, Vincent."

He too smiled at the reminder of their coming child, and with a brief kiss to her forehead, he disappeared into the tunnel entrance. Close enough to hear and help if needed, but out of sight.

She paced, and then she sat, then got up and paced again. She wasn't sure of the time…that was one of the first things they had taken from her when she was abducted. She guessed rightly that they didn't want her to have a way of keeping track of time. Catherine had only been glad that it had been a trendy watch to match her outfit and not her mother's gold one that she wore on special occasions. But then the backroom curtain was opened by Mr. Lee and Elliot came in. The two of them stood face to face for a long moment as Mr. Lee melted away, both of them wondering what to do first.

To be continued….


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Finally Catherine spoke, "Elliot, I'm glad you came."

"You knew I would," was all he said as he drank in the sight of her.

"I hoped…I didn't know," was her reply.

"You knew!" he insisted.

"Elliot," she sighed.

He took a step into the room bringing himself closer to her, "You look thin and frail…what did they do to you, Cathy?"

"They wanted to know what I had learned from the book and where it was. They kept drugging me to get me to talk."

"God, Cathy! I searched for you like crazy, but nothing!"

"It's alright, Elliot. I'm sure you did your best. All that matters is I am safe now."

"But safe where? I could…"

"No Elliot…I have a very safe place. All I need now is the book. I have to get it to Joe."

"I have it and the translation, but first I want some answers Cathy! You were gone for six weeks and suddenly you're back with your only explanation being 'I'm safe'? That just doesn't cut it! I need to know more!"

There was almost a desperation to his tone, and she realized that Vincent was right, Elliot would have to be told the truth…or at least part of it. "I was rescued by the man I told you about…"

"Vincent," he interrupted.

She wasn't completely surprised that he had found out Vincent's name, she knew that Elliot had sources for almost anything. "Yes, Vincent."

Jealousy knifed through him just hearing her say his name. All the love she felt for him was right there in her voice. All the love she felt for Vincent, but had never felt for him! "And you've been staying with him?"

"Yes."

"How do you know he can keep you safe, Cathy? If I couldn't find you then the people that took you are very powerful indeed. I can get you to safety…both of you if he would go with you." Elliot hated making the offer to send this other man with her, but maybe he had learned a thing or two in the time he'd been searching for her. If this other guy could make her happy, well then he could at least send them away together.

"Vincent can't leave, Elliot..."

As she said that his heart gave a momentary leap of joy, until she finished by saying, "…so I will stay with him in his world."

"His world? You make it sound like a different planet!"

"It's as different from this world as any other planet could be. The people there all love and care for each other. Each and every one of them would give their life for the others. That is why it is a secret place, known only to a very few."

"And your Vincent lives there?" At her nod he continued, "And that kid that came to the office today and the old man we found locked and tied up by that reporter?"

"Yes, the boy is called Mouse, and the other man is Vincent's father."

"You'll be staying with them until the danger is over?"

"No Elliot, I'm going to be living there with them. Vincent and I are getting married."

He closed his eyes in almost physical pain, and Catherine couldn't help but feel sorry for him. He opened his mouth to try and speak, closed it only to try again, "Cathy, tell me what he gives you that I couldn't?"

"He completes me. It's not about what he gives me or what I give him, we have a Bond that ties our hearts together in a way you'd have to experience to understand."

"I'd like to meet him one day, Cathy, just to tell him to his face how lucky he is. In the meantime, I was able to get the book about ninety five percent decoded," he told her reaching into the inner pocket of his expensive overcoat and pulling out both the book and the translation. "This is some pretty high level stuff. It even implicates your boss, the DA himself!"

"I knew that much. He was involved in my capture."

"I'll kill him!" Elliot exclaimed.

"Thank you, Elliot, but I think it's better to let Joe Maxwell handle taking Moreno down. With the information in the book that should be easy. I appreciate all the work you did on it."

"You know you could pay me…"

Just the way he said it, or maybe it was the look on his face, but Catherine knew that she wasn't going to like what was coming next. "What do you want, Elliot?"

"How about a kiss?"

To be continued….


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

This time the jolt of jealousy came through the Bond. It was just a split second before Vincent was able to clamp down on his feelings, but it was there nonetheless. Once again, it wasn't jealousy in thinking that Catherine would betray him, but rather that Elliot had the confidence to ask for what he wanted in such bold way.

Catherine stood there staring at Elliot and actually felt sorry for him. He might think that he loved her, but he would never really understand the full commitment to another that she and Vincent had. Sadly shaking her head she answered, "Elliot, if you need payment, I'll gladly write you a check; I can even date it for before my abduction if you think that might be a problem, but in the meantime there's someone I think you should meet."

She felt Vincent's start of surprise. When Elliot had let meeting him go with only a reference of 'someday', he figured that was that. But now for some reason Catherine thought it was the time.

"He's here? He's been here all along?" Elliot questioned, suspiciously looking around the small room for somewhere that someone might be hiding. Not seeing an obvious place or the person Cathy was talking about, Elliot turned back to face her.

"Vincent has excellent hearing and remained close in case there was any trouble, or if you had been followed," she replied. Looking past him, she said, "Vincent, will you come out?"

It was broad daylight, no shadows at all to hide in, so there didn't seem to be much point in having his hood pulled up since it wouldn't be able to hide his face in any case. He stepped boldly into the room only to find Elliot's back was to the door.

Spinning around as he sensed someone enter the room, Elliot staggered back a step at the sight he beheld. Before there was time for him to do more than that, Mr. Lee entered the room carrying a tray. He beamed at the newcomer to the room and said, "Ah good, Vincent! So there will be three for lunch? I will bring more food!" He quickly placed the tray on the table and left the room.

Elliot's eyes flew from Vincent to Cathy and back again. She could read what was in his mind. Disbelief. Not at what Vincent looked like, but at the fact that she had chosen Vincent over him. "This is Vincent?"

"Yes. Elliot Burch, I'd like you to meet Vincent Wells. He helped me get your father out of the hospital and covered our escape into the tunnels."

"Those sounds…this…you made them?"

Vincent just nodded and held out his fur-covered, clawed hand to Elliot. "It's good to finally meet you, Mr. Burch. My father and I owe our lives to you for the materials you gave Catherine."

"I don't understand…"

Catherine answered, "There was a cave in. Vincent and Father were trapped. The things on that list helped us to get them out."

"I see," Elliot said as Mr. Lee came back into the room with another tray of food and a second pot of tea."

"Please…all enjoy," he said and once again left them alone.

Looking from the food to Vincent, Elliot stated, "I don't think I'll stay to eat."

Vincent's head bowed and his hair fell forward hiding the expression on his face, but Catherine knew he was injured at this latest lack of acceptance from the world Above. "Please stay, Elliot. Mr. Lee went to all this work and it is the least we can offer you for the work you did on the book."

Elliot's gaze had still not moved from Vincent, and he asked, "You heard me ask her for a kiss, didn't you?"

His head came up and two pairs of male eyes locked. "I did," was all Vincent said.

"Don't you hate me for that?"

"No. I understand what it is to love Catherine. I know the agony of loss you must be feeling. I felt that too when she told me she was going to marry you to stop your tower from being built."

"Stop the tower…that was the only reason you agreed to marry me?"

"Only in the fact that I would be leaving behind the man that I loved with all my heart, Elliot."

"I see." This time it was Elliot Burch that hung his head. He knew when he'd been defeated and it was this tiny woman with a heart bigger than any he'd ever known, that had brought about his downfall. She had been willing to sacrifice the man that she loved in order to marry him and stop his tower. He in return, couldn't give up building the tower to have the woman he claimed to have loved.

To be continued….


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

"I hope the two of you will be happy," Elliot finally said.

"Thank you," they said in unison as Catherine moved to the table to remove the covers over the three plates. She took one look at the fresh crab salad served on a bed of crisp lettuce and pushed by the two men as she made a mad dash out of the room.

"Catherine!" Vincent called out in alarm and was about to follow her when his stomach rolled, and he was hit with a wave of nausea.

"What was that all about?" Elliot asked in confusion.

Vincent answered truthfully without thinking, "I believe it was her first case of morning sickness."

"Morning Sickness?! That would mean she is…Pregnant!" Elliot looked at the man/beast standing in front of him and then to the doorway Cathy had run through. She was going to have a baby with this unique creature?

"Yes, it happened before she was captured."

Elliot remembered Cathy saying that they'd drugged her and had to ask, "Is she…and the baby alright? She talked about being drugged…"

"They also didn't feed her well. I believe that when they got the information they wanted from her they would have killed her, but my father is a doctor and is caring for her. He says that they both will be fine with some extra care and rest. Everyone in my world is making sure that is happening."

Then Elliot noticed the rather ill look on is face. "And you? Are you alright?"

"Catherine and I have a Bond, as she told you. I feel what she feels when she feels it. So I too was affected with the bout of nausea she had, however it seems to have passed, and she is on her way back to us," Vincent answered as he recovered the lunches so there wouldn't be a repeat performance.

With an odd smile that Vincent couldn't decide was envy or sarcasm, Elliot said, "Then I feel sorry for you when she goes into labor!"

"As with all things, Catherine and I will get through it together."

The lady in question came back into the room and with a sheepish grin, she said, "I'm sorry about that."

"Vincent covered the food so it wouldn't make you sick again."

Catherine looked at Vincent with a question in her eyes, and at his nod she knew he'd told Elliot about the baby. "I guess lunch is a bust after all. I'm sorry, Elliot."

"Don't worry about it, Cathy. I'll explain to the waiter as I leave. I'm guessing the two of you have a back way out of here?"

"We do," Vincent assured him.

Elliot handed Cathy the book and pages with a sad nod, then left the room. In the front of the shop, he told the little oriental man what had happened and pressed two one hundred dollar bills into the man's hand. He left with his body guards following him as Mr. Lee was still protesting that he'd given him too much.

"Vincent, we need to call Joe and let him know we have this book."

"I'm sure Mr. Lee would let you use his telephone."

"That's just it…the calls at the office go through the switchboard and my voice might be recognized. Joe knows you now, you could call him."

He gaped at her as if she were suddenly speaking a foreign language. "Catherine! I've never used a telephone!"

She smiled at him indulgently, "It's easy, Vincent. I'll dial the number for you. All you have to do is ask for Joe and give him the message."

He still looked unsure, but said, "For you, Catherine, I will try."

A moment later Catherine would have given anything to have had a camera handy. She knew many people Below, after getting over the shock, would get a kick out of seeing Vincent tentatively holding the receiver to his ear like it was about to bite him. But in the end, Joe got the message and said he would come right over for the book. He was thrilled to hear Burch had so much of it decoded even if he had a hard time getting over the surprise of a phone call from Vincent!

To be continued….


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Once the book was safely in Joe's hands, Catherine and Vincent returned to the tunnels and headed home. "Now we can concentrate on the wedding," Catherine stated cheerfully.

"Yes, Catherine, and other things as well…as soon as you are able," he smiled shyly at her.

"Oh, you didn't think I had forgotten that did you?" she asked with a grin and a wink. "But we are going to be married so very soon now…if you would rather wait until our wedding night it would be okay with me, Vincent."

"Catherine, you are already pregnant. I think it is clear that we didn't wait for our wedding night."

"I know that, but I also know you pretty well by now and would be willing to wait if you wanted to."

"No, Catherine, I only wish to wait until you are completely well. I don't want any harm to come to you or our baby."

"Our baby…" she sighed.

"Is something wrong?" he asked as he stopped walking to look at her with a worried frown.

"No, my love, I was just thinking of the day he or she will be here."

"I only hoping that the baby is healthy," he admitted.

Knowing that he wouldn't admit to more concern about the child looking like him, Catherine asked, "Have you given any thoughts to names yet?"

He was about to confront her again about wishing the baby looked like him when he sensed her dread of that very thing through the Bond. Instead he offered, "What about Caroline, after your mother, if we have a daughter?"

"I'd like that, thank you Vincent, and what about Jacob for a boy? With Father being Father to everyone I don't think there would be much confusion."

"I'm sure he would be honored, but what about your own father's name? Charles is a good strong name as well."

"True, but I think our first son should be Jacob. Now have you thought of what you want to be called? I mean Father would be very confusing, but that still leaves Daddy, Dad, Dada, Papa, Pops…" she broke off on a giggle at the look on his face at her last suggestion. "Okay, I guess Pops is out!"

"Dad or Daddy would be fine…when in truth I never thought to ever be called by either title. And do not think that you slipped that 'first son' comment by me, Catherine. How many children do you want us to have?"

"Well, since you want a girl and I want a boy, I figure we should keep working on it until we have at least one of each…and whatever else happens, happens!" she told him cheerfully while picturing several children that looked like him playing hide and seek among the stacks of books in Father's study.

"All I can think about right now is this one, Catherine. It is still such a miracle to me."

"To me as well, Vincent! I am already longing for the day when you can hold this baby. I remember the look on your face when you held Lena's baby."

"I have to confess that in my most secret place I was wishing that baby was yours and mine."

"Oh, Vincent! So was I! And now here our wish is coming true!"

Vincent might have said more on the subject, but before he could Catherine's stomach rumbled loudly, reminding them that they had both missed lunch, and she had lost whatever might have been left from breakfast. "Why don't we stop by the kitchen and see if William has any leftovers for us? I'm sure he wouldn't refuse to feed you!"

"Oh, so you are just hoping to cash in on his pity for me!" she teased as they resumed their walk.

"Most certainly!" he laughed.

To be continued….


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Vincent was completely correct in his assumptions about William. As soon as the man found out that Catherine had missed lunch on top of a bout of morning sickness, he sat the two of them down at a table and plied them with food until Catherine was sure she would burst.

When they were finally finished eating, Vincent mentioned that he had promised Father a report on their meeting with Elliot. Even though Catherine was sleepy after eating such a huge meal she said she would go along with him. She just had to see Father's face when he heard that Vincent had made his first phone call.

They told him about the meeting and that Elliot had decoded much of the book, then they reported that it was safely in Joe's hands now. Father was relieved that had been settled.

Catherine then casually mentioned that Vincent had been the one to call Joe with the news about the book. The look on Father's face was all that she could have hoped for. Shock and disbelief, warred with curiosity and humor. Finally the latter set won out, and he questioned his son as to how the experience had affected him.

Vincent informed him that he hadn't liked it at all. It was much too impersonal he said, he would rather talk to people in person.

Father responded that it really wasn't much different than using the pipes to communicate. Vincent, however, claimed that it was, even though he could come up with no tangible reason why. With Father and Catherine both trying to hide their laughter at his expense, he decided the only way to solve this issue was to tattle on his fiancée. "The reason it took us so long to report back to you with the news Father was that we had to stop by the kitchen to feed Catherine. It seems that the smell of crab salad didn't agree with her, and she had her first bout of morning sickness."

Giving him a look that promised she would make him pay later, Catherine submitted to exactly what Vincent had known would happen. Father insisted on giving her a thorough exam!

In the game of one-upmanship, Catherine could hold her own however. As the exam finished and Father pronounced her 'fit as a fiddle' she made a point of asking if that meant she was now cleared for ALL activities. Father was about to confirm that she was, when he caught sight of Vincent's face. His son was blushing! Realizing what was now being asked of him, Jacob wondered what to do. In the past he might have just replied that Catherine wasn't up to 'that' yet. However, with the evidence that these two had already loved with no ill side effects, he hadn't a leg to stand on. So overcoming more that two decades of concern about this very thing happening, he assured Catherine in his most professional voice that 'yes' she was cleared for all forms of activity, although he wouldn't have been Father without the need to add the caution, 'as long as you don't over do!'

Catherine smiled and promised she wouldn't. Then announced that she felt it was time for a nap. Starting out of the room, she was surprised to reach the steps and discover that Vincent wasn't behind her. "Aren't you coming, Vincent?"

Having the desire to make love to his beloved Catherine was one thing, and while he might be looking forward to it with both excitement and just a bit of trepidation, having it almost blatantly announced that this was what was going to happen when they reached their chamber in front of Father, no less, was quite another thing entirely! So, even knowing that Catherine would know the truth, he pretended to take her at her word and replied, "If you were going to take a nap, Catherine, I thought I would offer Father a game of chess." Vincent knew he could always rely on his parent never turning down the challenge of a game.

Father, understanding what was going on here, decided that since he had in essence already given the go ahead for this very thing to happen, that there was no time like the present and chose to play devil's advocate. "I'm sorry, Vincent, but when the two of you came in I was in the middle of studying this article on a new medical procedure that I wanted to talk over with Peter, and since he will be here for dinner this evening, I really do need to finish it."

To be continued….


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

"Oh, I see. Of course you should finish it then, Father," Vincent said walking over to where Catherine still waited. "We will see you at dinner."

"Yes, yes!" Father said with an absent wave of his hand, seemingly already deep into his reading again, when in fact he was trying very hard to hide a devilish grin.

Nothing was said until the two of them reached their chamber and then Vincent felt that he should apologize, "I'm sorry, Catherine, I was just embarrassed that Father knew what was about to happen…" he trailed off.

"Vincent, I told you that I was willing to wait until we are married if that would make you feel less uncomfortable."

"No, I meant what I said. I see no reason for us to wait."

"Well then, we can proceed at whatever pace you feel comfortable with. I was hoping that we could do a little cuddling before I took a nap."

"Cuddling?! I'd like that!" he replied eagerly.

"Good," she answered, and began to undress.

"Catherine, what are you doing?"

"I want to do our cuddling…naked."

His jaw dropped, his eyes widened, and he felt like he was struggling for air. Catherine had already removed the clothes she hated and let them fall to the floor. She stood before him in just her lacy bra and panties.

She looked at him just standing there and gently asked, "Won't you please undress for me?"

'She asked for so little!' he thought, 'and they had loved once already! What was he afraid of? Catherine had to know that he would look different than other men she had known, she had only to look at his face and hands to realize that.' Did he think she would run from him screaming? And even if she wanted to, would she, now that she wore only her underclothes?

He still hadn't moved or said anything so she took a slow step forward and softly pleaded, "Please, Vincent?"

"I am sorry for the delay, Catherine, of course I will," he told her and began to unlace his vest.

"May I help you?" she asked gently.

He raised startled eyes to hers at that question, but when he felt only love and reassurance flowing to him through the Bond, he nodded shyly. Since he had finished undoing his vest, Catherine reached up to slide it off his shoulders while he began the complex task of unhooking the intricate belt buckle he wore. Catherine was already tugging his sweater up and over his head as his belt fell to the ground.

Resisting a sigh when she discovered that he still had two layers on, she started to unbutton his shirt. Vincent kicked off his ankle high boots as she pushed his shirt off his shoulders. Now came the moment of truth, in his mind at least. Would she hate what she saw when his undershirt came off? He couldn't help the worry that managed to reach her through the Bond.

Stopping as her hands were about to pull the undershirt out of his pants, Catherine looked into his eyes, "Vincent, when are you going to realize that to me you are beautiful? I am eager to see your body, not fearful in the least. I'm sure you are even sexier in real life than you are in my imagination!"

"You've imagined me…naked?!" he truly seemed amazed.

"Yes, haven't you done the same about me?"

He hung his head as if he were ashamed to admit it and said, "Only in my deepest fantasies."

"Vincent, it's perfectly natural to fantasize about the one you love! One day, we can tell each other all of our fantasies!"

He seemed very unsure about that, but as in all things about the intimacies of a relationship he was going to have to trust Catherine to know what was best. Taking a deep breath, he reached for the hem of his undershirt and quickly pulled it over his head. Standing there in only his pants and sock, he waited for her reaction.

Catherine took a step closer to him, their bodies were nearly touching, and she finally did what she had been dreaming of for so long. She ran her hands through the thick red-gold hair covering his chest, and then pressed her body against his as she slid her arms around his neck. "Oh Vincent," she sighed, laying her head on his shoulder.

Vincent could hardly believe the love and acceptance that was pouring through the Bond to him, and something else…desire…that wasn't coming from him! Catherine desired him! Even looking like he did! He was truly blessed to have this wonderful woman's love.

To be continued….


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

(This starts the edited versions of the chapters, if you would like to read the full version please email me off list.)

Taking her arms from around his neck, she reached behind her back and unhooked her bra. Letting it fall to the ground, she once again pressed her body against his.

"Catherine, may I look at you?" he asked in a raspy voice.

"Of course you may, Vincent," she responded with a smile, "as long as I can look at you at the same time." The two of them took delight in their first long look at the other.

After several moments, she said, "I want to see all of you, Vincent. Please…" Hooking her thumbs into the elastic band of her panties, she waited to see if he was ready to remove his pants.

He unsnapped his jeans and lowered the zipper before glancing at her. She smiled in encouragement, and to give him added incentive, slowly slid her panties off and stepped out of them.

Vincent stood there frozen. Never, not even in his wildest dreams did he picture the beauty that stood before him now. Catherine was perfection! None of the nudes in Father's 'art' books could compare to this petite goddess in front of him. "Oh Catherine!"

"Oh Vincent…" she teased just a bit. "I want to see you too, my love. Should I help you?"

As closely as he was staring at her, it wasn't hard to see the slight shiver that came over her, or as he looked closer to see the goose flesh on her skin. Even though the brazier was lit and several dozen candles added their warmth to the chamber, it was still December and there was a chill in the air. "Why don't you get under the covers and I will join you in a moment?" he asked and he quickly divested himself of the jeans and socks.

By the time Catherine had the covers pulled back and had climbed in, he was right behind her ready to get into bed too. "Oh no you don't!" she said, holding up her hand and clutching the covers with her other one, so he couldn't climb in. "You got to look at me, Vincent and I want the same pleasure. Please, take a step back and really let me see you."

He hesitated only a moment, this time not out of fear, but out of shyness. No one had seen him completely naked since just before he entered puberty, except for Father because they shared a private bathing chamber, or at times in his capacity as a doctor. But he could feel Catherine's need for this sharing through the Bond and slowly took two steps backwards. Leaving his hands at his sides and fighting the urge to cover himself, Vincent could only hide by dropping his head and letting his hair shield the blush on his cheeks from her sight. But the rest of him was there in complete view for her to see.

Catherine was enthralled, he was even more gorgeous than she had ever imagined!

Vincent hadn't been able to look at Catherine for her reaction. However, because of her continued silence, he tested her feelings through the Bond and found she was in awe of him and filled with desire. His head came up to look at her just in time to hear her say, "Wow!"

He blushed fiercely and moved towards the bed so he could disappear beneath the covers. As he pulled them back, Catherine startled him by asking, "Vincent, would you mind if we skipped cuddling?"

Disappointed that he wouldn't get to hold her glorious nude body close to his, he swallowed it down and thought only of her, "No, of course not, Catherine. I will just get dressed."

"Oh no, Vincent, you misunderstood…I was hoping that we could bypass the cuddling and proceed right on to something more…"

To be continued….


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

((for anyone that requested the 'adult' versions of these chapters and that didn't get them yet, please send me your email address so I can send them to you…some of you have private messaging disabled and one other I had misplaced your addy from the last story…..sorry))

"More, Catherine?" he asked almost forgetting that he was still standing in the room naked.

"I would like to make love, if you are ready, Vincent?"

Gulping, he questioned, "Are you sure you are?"

"Test the Bond, my love, see how ready and eager I am for you."

He did as she asked.

With a bit of gentle teasing, she said, "I can see that you're ready too. Why don't you just come to bed and we will see where things go from there?"

"Catherine, I have factual knowledge, but still no memory of our first time. If you will lead me I will gladly follow you," he told her as he once again lifted the covers and this time managed to get into bed.

She immediately went into his arms and hugged him tightly. "I love you so much, Vincent!"

"And I love you, Catherine," he whispered into her hair as she laid on his chest. It was so liberating to finally feel free to say those words whenever he felt the need to.

"May I show you just how much I love you?"

"I don't understand your question…"

"Do you trust me, Vincent?"

"In all things!" he assured her.

"Then let me love you," she murmured, and began by kissing the center of his chest.

He jumped a bit at that contact, but then relaxed into it when he realized how pleasurable it was.

Slowly, trying not to frighten him, she started to place more kisses on his chest. When this was as far as he felt she was going, some of the tension eased out his body and Catherine felt him relax.

To be continued….


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Trying very hard not to choke on her giggles as she continued to swallow furiously, she prayed that he was too far 'out of it' to hear the message that went out on the pipes just seconds after Vincent's reaction to the culmination of their lovemaking.

Looking at his closed eyes and totally spent form, she was very glad he hadn't heard: Vincent is fine…there is nothing to worry about…respect his privacy… Father.

Catherine knew just how embarrassed her shy mate would be if he'd heard THAT! She made a mental note, as she snuggled into his arms while waiting for him to recover, that from now on she needed to try and kiss him to muffle that roar.

It was several minutes later before Vincent recovered his ability to speak, "Catherine, that was the most intense feeling I've ever had!"

"Oh my love, I'm so very glad, but I have to tell you that it does get better."

"I'm not sure I could survive 'better'!" he protested lightly.

"Just remember, I'll be here and I won't let you go…" she smiled softly at him.

"Catherine…you said that to me before!" he exclaimed, sitting up and taking her with him since she'd been lying on his chest.

"What?" she questioned a bit confused.

"You told me that you 'wouldn't let me go' once before!" he insisted.

Slowly she answered, "Yes, that night in the cave. But Vincent, I never told you that!"

"I know…I heard it in my head when you said it just a moment ago. You said, 'I won't let you go! Not without me!' and then you kissed me!"

"Yes! Vincent, you remembered?!"

"Just that it seems, but maybe that means the rest of what happened that night will come back to me as well."

"Oh my love, I do so hope so! That night was so wonderful and I want to share that memory with you!" she whispered as tears of joy slid down her cheeks.

To be continued….


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Pulling her close, he kissed her in a way he never had before. Vincent took control and led them on a path to passion. His tongue invaded her mouth not shyly or with hesitation, but as if he finally understood that he had the right to be there. She thrilled to his embrace and returned every movement with one of her own.

When they finally broke for air, he was the first to speak. "I want to make love to you, Catherine," he told her with an assurance in his voice that she'd never heard before.

"I want that too, Vincent," she assured him.

"Will you show me how to love you?"

"No, Vincent. You already know that and making love is simple if you keep in mind one thing."

"And that is?" he asked attentively.

"Follow your heart, my love. Everything else is secondary. Do what feels right to you and trust that our Bond will guide you the rest of the way."

In the middle of all the excitement, it all came flooding back to him! He remembered their first time together! He remembered the night their child was conceived. And he remembered how Catherine had the courage to love one such as him and knew that he would be forever humbled in the face of the depth of her love.

He cried out, "Catherine, I remember!"

Both of them were weeping tears of joy as they lay in each other's arms. Finally when words came, he said, "It was as wonderful as you said, Catherine."

"Now or then?" she couldn't help but tease a little.

With a fang-showing smile, he answered, "Both, but I was actually referring to our first time…the night our child was conceived."

"I'm overjoyed that you remembered, Vincent. It's a memory that means so much to me."

"And I, as well. You were so brave to come in after me alone like that. I can't believe Father let you."

"He tried to stop me. I simply told him that without you, I have no life!"

"And now we have a child on the way and will be married soon…so much to look forward too…and all because of your courage!"

"Because of love, Vincent, just love."

They slept for a time and woke just in time for dinner. The smiles of their friends on the way to the dining hall seemed brighter that usual, but it wasn't until they were in the buffet line and Kanin remarked, "Olivia and I are glad that everything is all right with you, Vincent, and that there's no need to worry!", that Catherine began to understand why. When William added his agreement to that, she knew Vincent was in for quite a bit of teasing before the meal was over.

He, however, had no idea what was going on, bless his heart, and protested that Catherine had been the one that had gone through such an ordeal and they should be concerned about her and not about him.

Rebecca, hearing that, adopted a look of concern and asked, very tongue-in-cheek, "Oh Catherine, was it really such an ordeal?!"

Trying her best not to burst out laughing she replied, "No, it wasn't an ordeal at all!"

"Catherine! How can you say that!? What you went through was just awful!" Vincent protested.

To be continued….


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

By this time they had gotten their food and arrived at the table they shared with Father and Mary, who were already there and seated. Father was trying to hide a grin as Mary blushed delicately. "Vincent, maybe someone should tell you what is actually being talked about here," Father suggested.

"Catherine's kidnapping…" he surmised.

"No, my love," Catherine told him gently.

"Then what?" he asked, completely clueless.

"This afternoon I had to send out a message on the pipes that you were all right and not to be disturbed," Father reported.

"Why would you have to do that, Father?" his son questioned.

Motioning for him to lower his head a bit, Catherine quietly murmured in his ear, "This afternoon when we were….when you…climaxed…well, my love, you…roared."

His head jerked up, and he stared disbelievingly into her eyes hoping against hope that this was just another way of Catherine teasing him. Sadly he found nothing but concern in her eyes and upon testing the Bond knew she was telling him the truth. "Oh god!" he muttered and buried his unique face in his hands.

Mary, the caring generous person that she was, reached across the table and patted his arm comfortingly. "It really wasn't that bad, Vincent."

Father was still trying to suppress a smile because of his son's discomfort and Catherine was about to add her reassurances to Mary's when Mouse came hurrying up to the table.

As usual he began to speak without any consideration to what was already going on at the table. "Good roar, Vincent! Could use as warning system! Heard it two levels down! You should practice it lots!"

When Mouse had started to speak, Catherine was sure Vincent would have crawled under the table if it wouldn't have brought more attention his way. Instead he lowered his arms to the table and his head became pillowed there. It wasn't until the last part of Mouse's speech that Catherine and Father reacted. They simply lost it! Both of them were laughing so hard their sides hurt. Even Mary couldn't help but release a little laugh which she quickly tried to stifle behind her hand.

Catherine was the first to recover enough to speak, "I agree with Mouse entirely, Vincent. I think you should practice it lots!" she said with a giggle.

Mary was blushing again.

Mouse looked pleased that he had made a good suggestion, if Catherine approved of it.

All that happened while Father wondered how much sleep the tunnel community would lose during all this practicing!

Vincent's head came up and he looked around expecting to see much different reactions than the ones he encountered. Everywhere he looked there were happy encouraging faces. The acceptance of his and Catherine's relationship was clear. Joy and pride swelled his heart and he did something that surprised everyone including Catherine.

Standing, he bent down and lifted Catherine into his arms. He was half way across the room before she regained enough composure to ask, "Vincent, what are you doing?"

Clearly not worried about who heard, he announced, "I feel the need to 'practice'! I hope you weren't really hungry!"

As they passed William, who had heard the early part of all this, Catherine pleaded with a barely suppressed chuckle, "Could you send us a tray in an hour? I might be hungry after my ordeal!"

From that point on, since Vincent was aware of the 'roaring' problem he made a special effort to avoid it whenever possible. Either, he and Catherine kissed at that point or he tried to bury his face in whatever was handy. A pillow, her shoulder, or even his own arm was found to be useful, but at least the tunnel community wasn't alerted every time the two of them made love.

To be continued….


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35

In the weeks prior to the wedding several things happened. Along with the plans for the event itself moving forward, there was also Jenny and Joe's visit to the tunnels. Joe was nearly speechless the entire time he was Below. He did however report that with the information from the book, he had gotten authorization to put a tail on Moreno in the hopes that he would lead them to the head guy behind Catherine's kidnapping.

Jenny had brought Cathy some things from her apartment using the key Cathy had given her years ago.

A week before the wedding, Joe reported that with some unexpected help from Elliot Burch, that not only was Moreno in custody, but a man known only as Gabriel was as well. Joe had also told them he had found and destroyed the security tape of Vincent's break in to Gabriel's complex the night he rescued Catherine.

The only fly in the ointment during this time was that there had been no word from Devin. Vincent wasn't saying anything but Catherine knew how disappointed he was. She had asked both Father and Peter to stand in for her father on the walk down the aisle, but after lunch on the day before the big day, she found a minute to speak to Father alone.

When just the two of them were in his study, she explained why she needed to talk to him. "I know that Vincent hasn't wanted to ask anyone else to act as his best man just in case Devin was to arrive at the last minute. But it doesn't look like he'll make it since we've had no word at all.

"You're probably right, Catherine. Either the telegram didn't reach him or he couldn't get away. I almost hope that it was the former. I'd hate to think that if he did get it, he wouldn't send word that he couldn't come."

"I agree, Father, but my more immediate concern is for tomorrow. I know Vincent would be happy to have you step in as his best man if you wouldn't mind switching jobs."

"Either job would be an honor, Catherine, so no; I wouldn't mind switching at all."

"Thank you, Father!" she exclaimed and leaned over to place a kiss on his cheek.

Vincent had been busy that entire afternoon with the last minute Winterfest preparations, so she hadn't gotten a chance to tell him what she and Father had talked about. They had just sat down to dinner when she finally had a moment to tell him. However, before she could begin there was a commotion out in the hallway, and it grew louder as a group of late arrivals to dinner entered the room.

At the center of this group was a very familiar scarred face. "DEVIN!" Vincent exclaimed, jumping to his feet and hurrying to reach his brother. "You came!"

"Like I would miss your wedding for anything in the world, Fuzz?!" Devin greeted him as the two of them hugged. "Now where is Chandler? I still have a few hours to convince her she picked the wrong brother!"

He spotted Catherine and started forward as she got to her feet. Devin stopped dead in the middle of the room. Even though she was only four months pregnant, Catherine looked like she was at least five or more months along. Looking from her to his brother and back again, Devin quipped, "Well this IS a surprise! Guess I won't need to have that 'birds and bees' talk with you after all…that is, if you are the father, Fuzz!?"

To be continued….


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36

Vincent felt Catherine's instant surge of affronted anger and indignation along the Bond and before he could do anything to calm her, she declared loudly and clearly, "Of course, Vincent is the father! How could you think otherwise? And as for me picking the wrong brother…Devin, you'd never stand a chance when compared to how wonderful and gorgeous Vincent is!"

He couldn't keep his chest from swelling with pride, even if he didn't believe her comparison. He was at least grateful that Catherine felt that way about him.

Devin grinned knowingly, almost as if he'd expected that reaction from her and declared, "Well, now that Fuzz is going to be off the market, I'll find a girl to go for me!" He crossed the distance between them and gave his stunned sister-in-law-to-be a bear hug. Seeing his father while looking over Catherine's shoulder he said, "Hiya, Pops!"

Father sighed, how he wished that this son was as respectful as the other one was, but he was sure that it would never happen at this late juncture. "Leave it to you to cause such a stir with your arrival, Devin!"

"I think that's his version of 'Look what the cat dragged in!' don't you, Fuzz?" Devin asked his brother who had come to rescue Catherine from his brother's hug.

With a shove to his chest, that even she didn't know if it was meant playfully or not, Catherine assured him, "If Vincent didn't want you here; I'd have the cat drag you right back out again!"

There was a moment of stunned silence throughout the room at how the inadvertent play on words had sounded, taking into account Vincent's unique appearance, but when Vincent himself started laughing, no one could hold back.

Catherine had been mortified for an instant and had already moved towards her love to beg his forgiveness when the laughter had started. Seeing her beloved with tears of mirth rolling down his cheeks she just had to join in as well.

"Sorry to upset you, Chandler, I really am happy for you and Fuzz and thrilled I'm going to be an Uncle. Do you guys know if it's a boy or girl yet, and which of you it will look like?"

"We don't want to know ahead of time," Catherine replied as they all took seats at the table.

William brought Devin a plate of food, for which he was thanked, and for a time everyone concentrated on eating. The rest of the evening was spent catching up with Devin and talking about the wedding.

Winterfest and the wedding were as magical as any couple could have hoped for. In Catherine and Vincent's case it wasn't just a wedding it was their dream finally coming true.

They had danced the first dance together as tradition demands at a wedding. Then the newlyweds were torn apart by everyone that wanted a chance to share in their happiness. Vincent danced next with Jenny while Catherine glided across the floor in Devin's arms, and then there were countless others that wanted their time. Catherine knew she had danced with Mouse at least twice and had even taken a short spin with Father. Peter and Joe had also had their turns, but of her new husband she only had glimpses of him dancing with other women. She did enjoy the sight of him with tom-boy Jamie and had to restrain a chuckle as her very tall groom struggled to match his steps with the tiny Samantha.

Finally after what seemed like hours apart, Vincent strode boldly across the dance floor to pluck her out of the arms of one that had danced with his bride more than he had! Mouse grinned at Vincent and let him lead Catherine away.

"Do you want one more dance, my love, or are you ready to retire to our chamber?" Vincent asked when Mouse had faded away.

Looking up at her handsome husband, Catherine answered, "I think I'm ready for a dance of a different kind, Vincent."

Pleased at her reply he swept her up into his arms and carried her from the Great Hall. The walk up the windy stairs had her hiding her face in his shoulder, but she knew that she had never been safer in her life.

They reached their chamber to discover that Olivia and Kanin had been there. They had created the same romantic scene that Catherine and Vincent had done for them when they moved into their new living quarters.

The bed was covered in red and white rose petals, with bouquets of the same flowers scattered around the room. And candlelight! The room was lit by no less than a hundred candles!

"Oh, Vincent! It's beautiful!"

"As beautiful as you are, Catherine," he replied, as he stood her gently on her feet. Lowering the tapestry that would shut everyone else out of their private world, he returned to stand in front of her. "Catherine, there are simply no words to express the joy that you have brought into my life."

"I know, Vincent. I can feel what you are feeling through the Bond and believe me I feel the same joy!"

To be continued….


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter 37

All that had been nearly two months ago now and the tunnel's favorite couple had settled into married life quite well. Their living quarters had expanded to two additional rooms, one of which would be the baby's room, and the other had become their new bedroom. Because Vincent's chamber had always been so open to everyone, they had decided to use it as their sitting room. That way their bedroom would start out with the privacy they deserved and needed.

Also during this time, Devin had returned to his travels, promising to come back when the baby was due. Jenny had started dating the new District Attorney for the city of New York. Joe had held the position temporarily during Moreno's trial, and the city commission decided that the job he had done during that time was outstanding. Being the one to bring Moreno in, had only added to his exemplary record as the Assistant DA and was more than enough to make him the only candidate for the position.

Of Elliot, all anyone knew was what they read in the papers. He had bought a yacht and had taken off on a world cruise. His business was being handled by his second in command and was doing well by all reports.

Under the ever-watchful eyes of her two over-protective doctors, Catherine had been informed that they believed that she would deliver before reaching her ninth month. Their best guess was about seven and a half months along, around the end of April. So the expectant couple was anxiously counting the days, figuring about four weeks from now.

Tomorrow was April first and Catherine had been planning several small pranks to pull on her friends and family Below. She had even been thinking of telling Jenny and Vincent that Peter and Father had heard a second heartbeat during her last exam. But with Jenny's perceptive process and her Bond with Vincent, she knew she wouldn't be able to pull that one off.

All thoughts and plans for the next day went right out of her mind when Vincent had interrupted one of Catherine's daily visits to Mary's chamber. She had led him to believe these were simply times to have tea with Mary and pick her brain about baby care. Although the two women did have tea and talk about babies, that wasn't the real reason for Catherine's visits. Somehow Vincent had sensed this, no matter how well she thought she had buried the real reason.

However that evening Vincent had simply walked into Mary's chamber unannounced, something usually only done by eager children or Mouse. He caught Catherine in the middle of her reason for being there. She was standing in front of Mary's full length mirror with her shirt pulled up and the elastic waistband of her pants pulled down below the bulge in her tummy.

"Vincent!" she gasped, turning to face him and covering up at the same time.

"Catherine, what are you doing?"

When she hesitated before answering, Mary said, "Just what every pregnant woman loves to do, dear boy. She was checking on your baby's growth."

Catherine rushed in to add, "It's just that every time I mention getting a mirror for our chamber…"

"Catherine, we will speak of this in private!" he told her, taking her by the arm and leading her out of Mary's chamber.

Arriving back at their quarters the now predictable argument started.

She would tell him that the mirror was not for her personal vanity, but because she hoped that seeing himself every day he would come to better accept his appearance.

He would tell her how uncomfortable that made him, and that he didn't want to be faced with seeing himself every day.

She would point out that that was the point! For him to become used to seeing himself and realize how beautiful he was!

He would look at her skeptically and try to change the subject.

She would ask what his reaction would be if the baby looked like him.

He would shudder and say that he prayed it wouldn't happen.

She would tell him she was praying for the opposite.

He would refuse to discuss it any farther.

This time there were the added recriminations of keeping her reasons for her visits with Mary from him.

Her last words to him before she crawled into bed that night were, "Vincent, if there were only some way I could convince you of how beautiful you are…I would do anything to make that happen!"

Vincent hadn't responded verbally to that, but when he got into bed and lay on his side facing away from her rather than taking her into his arms as he usually did, she knew how very upset he was.

As the 'midnight' message went out on the pipes, Catherine mentally voiced a wish that she knew would never happen…right before she fell asleep.

Her thought was: "How I wish I could have known Vincent before all this affected him so badly! When he was still young enough to believe how beautiful he really is!"

To be continued….


	38. Chapter 38

Chapter 38

When Catherine woke, she was a bit disoriented. She wasn't in her own bed with Vincent next to her like she should have been. Instead, she was in the hospital chamber alone with the lights very low. The impression was that it was the middle of the night, not morning like she had expected it to be.

Her first thought was how and why she was there and then there was a frission of fear that something was wrong with the baby! Before she had a chance to reach her hands down to check her tummy, she heard a voice from the dark corner of the room, "Don't be afraid. Everything is fine."

"Vincent?!"

"Yes…how did you know…"

She interrupted him, "Why are you hiding over there?"

"I didn't want to frighten you."

"Frighten me?!" she asked, her voice rising. "What happened? Why am I here?"

"I found you in the park. You were unconscious; I think you had been hit on the head."

"In the park? What was I doing there? The last thing I remember was going to bed last night!"

"I believe that memory loss can come from a bump on the head. Father would know more, but his hip was bothering him greatly tonight and he was sent to bed. He thought you wouldn't wake until morning."

"Why won't you come over here? I need you closer to me. Please, Vincent!" she pleaded.

The figure that stepped forward had his cloak on with the hood pulled up and was keeping his face averted from her as he slowly approached.

"Why won't you let me see you? What's wrong?" she demanded, trying to sit up and reach out for him.

Two things happened in the next moment. Vincent pulled back as if in alarm and Father hobbled into the room. Even in the dim light Catherine knew at once there was something very wrong.

"What are you doing in here, Vincent?" Father growled.

"I'm sorry, Father! I was only watching over her while she slept, since your doctor said you needed to rest. It seems that she has some memory loss. She doesn't remember being in the park, only going to bed last night, and then waking up here just now. She's very frightened."

In a voice so low that Catherine had strained to hear Father asked Vincent, "Did she see you?"

"No, Father."

"Then you should go now…and Vincent, Peter doesn't need to know that I'm up."

"Yes, Father," he said.

"No! Don't go!" Catherine begged.

Vincent had started out of the room at his father's instructions, but had stopped when she begged him not to.

"Young lady, you need to lay back and let me examine you. Head injuries are not to be taken lightly, especially if you are experiencing memory loss. Tell me, do you know your name?"

"Of course, I know my name!" she protested, but before she could go on there was another interruption.

Dr. Peter Alcott entered the hospital chamber. "What is going on here?" he demanded, not even looking at the girl on the exam table. His disapproving gaze was directed at Father. "I thought I told you to stay in bed? That hip of yours is never going to get any better if you don't stay off of it for a time!"

"I was just checking on this young lady Vincent found in the park…" Father stuttered.

Peter interrupted, "I'll take care of her! Vincent, take him back to his chamber and make sure that he stays there!"

"Yes Sir," Vincent answered, wrapping his strong arm around Father's waist and leading him from the room.

Catherine watched Vincent go with longing in her eyes, but her gaze came back to the man remaining when he looked at her and gasped, "Cathy?!"

"Hello, Peter," she greeted him.

"Since when do you call me 'Peter', young lady?" he asked with a frown.

This was the first indication that something else was going on, but she wasn't focused enough to pick up on it at that time. "What do you mean? I've called you Peter for years!" she protested.

"You've never called me anything but Dr. Alcott in the fifteen years since I delivered you!" he admonished.

"Fifteen!" she squeaked, looking around the room for a mirror. Not seeing one, she dumped the medical instruments on to the floor, so she could lift the shiny tray they had been laying on.

Over Peter's protest of "What are you doing?" she looked at herself and gasped, "I'm a teenager!"

To be continued….


	39. Chapter 39

Chapter 39

"Well of course, you are! But how did you come to be down here is the question? I'm sure I've never mentioned this place to you or your father," Peter insisted.

"No, you were just as surprised to see me as I was to see you at my first Winterfest Below," Catherine told him.

"Winterfest!? How do you know about Winterfest? What is going on here, Cathy?"

"Oh Peter! I know how what I am about to tell you is going to sound. It will sound nothing short of crazy when I tell you. Please, let me start by asking if you have ever known me to lie?"

"Not that I can recall. Just what are you going on about, young lady?"

"You probably should sit down for this, and I know how it will sound at first, but I'm sure that if you hear me out you'll eventually believe me."

Peter pulled up a nearby wooden stool and sat down, never taking his eyes off of her. "This sounds like some story you have to tell."

"It is, and I know it will sound crazy to you, so please try and bear with me. When I went to bed last night I was thirty five years old…"

"What the…"

"Please! Let me finish," she begged at his interruption. "I don't know how it happened, but when I woke up instead of being in my own bed, I was here and I was twenty years younger."

"Cathy, do you really expect me to believe this nonsense?"

"Listen, if I'm who you think I am, fifteen year old Cathy Chandler, then I shouldn't know anything about the tunnels or its people, should I?"

"As far as I know, you've never been here before…"

"Okay then, how do you explain that I know the tapping on the pipes is the way they communicate? Or that Pascal is the Pipe Master…no wait twenty years ago it would have been his father, he would still be in training. I also know Mary, who is mother to everyone! And William, the cook. I know about Devin, Vincent's brother and how he got the scars on his cheek…I also know about John Pater, and what he meant to the community. That he 'went bad', changed his name to Paracelsus, and was then ultimately banished!"

She paused for breath noticing the dazed look on his face before delivering her final revelation, "And I know that Father's real name is Jacob Wells… and that the two of you went to medical school together. Also that he worked for the Chittenden Institute, and was black listed. That's why he came Below and started this community and became known as Father."

"My god! How in the world can you know all that?"

"Because twenty years from now I live Below. This is my home, Peter!"

"How? How does Cathy Chandler come to live down here?"

"Vincent saved my life. I was attacked and left for dead in the Park. He found me and brought me here to Father."

"That doesn't explain how you came to live down here, Cathy…"

She smiled softly, "I fell in love with someone here. We're married and expecting a child."

"That's incredible! Who did you marry?"

Glad that he seemed to be believing her now, Catherine couldn't hold back a wide grin, "All I can say is…it's a good thing you're sitting down, Peter, because if I thought you weren't going to believe me before…you are going to have to stretch for this one! I married Vincent…"

"VINCENT!?" he exclaimed.

"I told you, you'd be glad you were sitting down!" she smirked.

"Cathy, do you realize that you can't tell anyone here about any of this? We need to get you back Above and home to your father as soon as possible!"

"No, Peter! I might not know how this happened, but I do know the reason for my being here!"

"I don't understand! What reason?"

Catherine went still and didn't answer him right away. She'd felt a tingle along the Bond and knew that Vincent was near. She smiled at the doorway and said, "You can come in, Vincent."

Looking puzzled at the empty doorway, Peter looked back at Cathy.

Then Vincent's voice came from the hall, "I don't want to frighten you with my appearance."

"You won't," she answered with a soft smile.

Peter saw the look on the teenage girl's face and if he hadn't believed her before he would have then. She truly looked like a grown woman intensely in love, instead of a naive young girl. He figured he could help out here, "Come in, Vincent. I've known Cathy all of her life and she truly is fearless."

To be continued….


	40. Chapter 40

Chapter 40

Vincent came slowly around the corner of the room, his hood pulled up hiding his face. He saw 'Cathy', as Peter called her, sitting on the edge of the exam table and looked no further. She was so beautiful! The most beautiful girl he'd ever seen…and he…well, she hadn't even seen him yet!

It was odd though, he kept getting the sense that he knew what she was feeling. Every once in a while that would happen to him with someone here Below, but before this it had only happened with people he knew well…most of them, all of his life. It had never happened with a stranger before. Though for some reason this girl didn't feel like a stranger, and it had never happened like this! Always before it had been a flash, or just a brief moment, but with this girl it was as if they were somehow connected. He had been able to feel what she was feeling ever since she had awakened Below and had been afraid. That was why he'd tried to reassure her that she was safe.

Now he could only sense eagerness…and love (?) from her. But how could that be? He had to be wrong about that. He would have kept trying to figure things out, as was his way, but she reached out an inviting hand to him and spoke, "Vincent, it really is okay. Please come closer and you can lower your hood…I know what you look like."

Vincent sensed Peter stiffen at this comment even though he never took his eyes off Cathy. He knew there was no way she could 'know', even if Peter had tried to prepare her by trying to telling her what he looked like, but he sensed that at least she felt that she was telling the truth. He told her, "You can't know."

"Yes, I can…" she hesitated then added, "I saw you earlier when I first woke up."

He knew instantly that was a lie! He was well practiced in keeping hidden, and he could also sense guilt along the connection he felt with her. She had lied and felt guilty for doing so. But for some strange reason he had the feeling that she had lied for him! To protect him? To spare his feelings?

Catherine felt that it was time to take matters into her own hands. She could feel that Vincent was trying to figure out what to say to her lies. She hopped down from the table and before he could react she reached out and lowered his hood. His backwards start of surprise with her still holding onto his hood caused her to stumble forward.

Vincent's arms instantly came up to keep her from falling, but since she hadn't pulled away from as he'd expected when she saw him, that meant they ended up in each other's arms. Catherine smiled into his wary eyes and cheerfully said, "Hi!"

"Ummm…hi…" he said hesitantly, still waiting for her to react with fear.

The two of them just stood there staring into each other's eyes, so with an amused gleam in his eye Peter gave a discreet cough.

Vincent backed up quickly, bumping into the wall behind him, but Catherine just smiled a bit wider.

"Vincent, I'm going to check on Father one more time, to make sure he is following orders, then I am going to get some sleep. If you are going to be up for a while longer, would you mind keeping Cathy company? With the head injury, she should be up several more hours before sleeping again just to guard against the possibility of concussion."

"I would be happy to, Peter. Is it all right if she takes a walk? I'd like to show her the Mirror Pool."

"That's fine, just don't let her overdo, or go to sleep."

"I won't," he promised.

Peter stood and gave Cathy a hug under the cover of which he whispered in her ear that sometime later he expected to be told what her reason for being here was.

"I will," she promised, making it sound like she was agreeing to the conditions Peter had already laid out to Vincent.

Leaving the two teens alone, Peter wondered if he was really doing the right thing. But it seemed like Cathy was still thinking as the adult she claimed to have been. He would just have to trust that continued.

He would have been less than reassured if he had heard the conversation that happened when he left.

To be continued….


	41. Chapter 41

Chapter 41

"Would you like to take a walk with me, Cathy?"

She sighed, it just didn't sound right for Vincent to be calling her Cathy. "I would love to on one condition…could you call me Catherine? Peter has known me since I was a baby and since Cathy is what my parents called me he did too. But now that I'm older I really prefer to be called Catherine."

"All right, Catherine," Vincent replied.

Her heart gave a little jump, even at the age of seventeen when he said her full name rather than Cathy, it sounded like a caress. With a nod of approval, she startled him by taking his hand and they left the hospital chamber together.

At first all he could think about was the contact of her hand resting in his. Vincent had very little skin to skin contact with anyone these days. Ever since he was able to wash and dress himself people had just seemed to stop touching him. He saw others hugging and touching all the time and just put it down to the fact that he was different. Oh sure, the other kids touched him when they were playing and wrestling around, but only Mary or Father really touched him other than that. Yet here was this strange girl that he'd only just met, and she casually took his hand as if it were the most common thing in the world. On top of that was the way she had reacted when she saw him for the first time! Not with fear but with a smile! He was so busy dwelling on those things that it wasn't until she had tilted her head to listen for the second or third time that he noticed.

Because of the late hour, there was very little chatter on the pipes, but she seemed to react to each one. "There's nothing to worry about, the pipes aren't faulty or anything. The noise along them isn't a problem; it's how we communicate with each other down here. The noise is actually messages."

"That's very clever, but I wasn't worried at all," she replied happily.

They walked in silence for a while. Vincent was trying to figure out what this connection was that he felt with her. There was nothing in past experiences he had to draw from that was of any help. So instead, he tried to concentrate on the feelings he was getting from her. He was getting things that felt like excitement, sadness, hesitation, worry, joy, confusion…and although he couldn't understand why he thought it…love. Her emotions were all in a jumble and were changing rapidly from one to another and back again, but through them all he got this overwhelming feeling of love. The weird thing was, no matter how he tried to rationalize it or push it aside, there it was. It almost seemed like a glow about her. He just couldn't understand it.

Catherine could tell that he was frantically trying to analyze all that had happened since finding her. Knowing the adult Vincent like she did, she knew he could take hours trying to understand it all before he spoke to her about it. Hoping that the teenage Vincent was just a bit more impulsive, she decided to press the point. They had arrived at the Mirror Pool, but rather than reacting to the beauty all around her like he had expected, she waited until they were seated and then asked, "What are you thinking about, Vincent?"

Saying the first thing that came into his mind, he told her, "You didn't react when you pushed back my hood."

"I told you that I had seen you before, when I first woke up."

"Forgive me for saying so, Catherine, but that was a lie."

"How did you know?"

"Because I'm good at staying hidden and when you said it, I felt your guilt for lying."

"You did?" she asked eagerly.

"You don't sound surprised about that. Catherine, what is happening?"

"You feel what I feel when I feel it. Almost as if we're one…"

"Yes! How did you know that?" he gasped.

"Because I feel it too, Vincent."

"But how is that possible?"

"I don't know. All I know is that we have a Bond…"

"Yes! A Bond! That's it! I was calling it a connection, in my head, but it is a Bond! But how? Why? I've never felt this way with anyone else…have you?"

She hesitated. How could she tell him that she had, without telling him that it was with his future self? Then it came to her…the simplest answer of all…the truth!

"I've never had a Bond with anyone but you, Vincent."

To be continued….


	42. Chapter 42

Chapter 42

At once he felt that was a lie, and the complete and utter truth at the same time! But how could it be both?

Before he became lost in analyzing things again, she asked, "What feeling did you feel from me?"

"If I tell you, will you explain them to me?"

"I'll try," she answered cautiously.

"Excitement?"

With a sweet smile, she patted his hand that was resting on his knee. "At being here with you."

His eyes opened wide as he took in the implications of that answer. "Sadness?" he questioned softly.

"Because there is more to my being here than you know, and when I told Peter about it, he insisted that I not tell anyone else."

"Oh…" He would need to think more about that one too. "Hesitation?"

"That one is easy…I want to tell you, but Peter is sure I shouldn't."

He gave her a half smile at the first part of her answer. "Worry?"

"How you would really react if I did tell you, ignoring what Peter said."

"Joy?"

"Knowing that our Bond works here too."

"I'm pretty sure that has to do with what you aren't supposed to tell, doesn't it?"

"Yes," she admitted with a shy smile. "Was there anything else?"

"Confusion," he stated.

"About whether I should tell you or listen to Peter."

"I see."

"Was that all you felt from me, Vincent?"

"No, there was something else, but I'm not sure I was reading it correctly."

"Why don't you tell me and let me see?"

"Because what I felt was something I've never felt before, so I can't know if I was correct. If I'm wrong it would be very…" he stopped, dropping his head in a way she knew so well. His hair came forward to cover his face and she knew he was trying to hide his embarrassment and maybe even a blush.

"It's all right, Vincent, maybe you will be able to tell me later. Why don't we talk about something else right now?"

"All right," he replied as if relieved to place that subject on hold. "Why did you lie about having seen me when you first woke up?"

"Because I thought it would give you the courage to come out of hiding if you thought I'd already seen you."

"But when you did…you still didn't react."

"I think you were too worried about what I was going to do to be tuned into the Bond at that moment. If you had been, you would have known my reaction."

He tentatively tested the truth of her words along the Bond and found that this was true. Taking a moment to analyze that, he gave her a wry grin and said, "I get the feeling that asking you now what that reaction was would be a part of all this stuff that Peter doesn't want you to tell."

Her rueful smile was all the answer he needed, but she confirmed it with her words too, "Yes, I'm afraid so."

"Catherine, I don't want to push your decision of whether to listen to Peter or tell me, so why don't we do something else for a while?"

"What did you have in mind?" she asked with a coy little grin.

She knew he had understood the flirtatious tone in her voice when his head once again dropped, letting his hair cover his face. "Do you like to read?" he asked in a husky voice.

"I love it when you…love being read to. What book are you reading now?"

Vincent had caught her slip and somehow he knew that he had read to her some time before just as her words had implied. He didn't know where that feeling came from or how to explain it, he only knew how utterly sure he was that they had spent many hours reading to each other.

Catherine knew that Vincent never went anywhere without a book. He kept it in a deep inner pocket in his cloak where the book would be kept safe. That way he would have something to do when he had to wait for a delivery to arrive from a Helper, or the person he was supposed to be meeting on her balcony had been running late from work once again, or when he just had a quiet moment alone to enjoy come great literary work.

Smiling at her, he opened his cloak and reached into the pocket Mary had sewn into it when she'd made it for him. Pulling out a leather bound book, he held it out to her.

To be continued….


	43. Chapter 43

Chapter 43

Looking at the spine of the book, she read the title and grinned at him, "Romeo and Juliet? How very romantic."

"This time I'm reading it for class, but I have to admit it's a favorite of mine."

"All the sword play and action?" she teased lightly.

"Actually, my favorite part is the balcony scene. I don't know why, but balconies have always held a fascination for me. I go Above at night and look at all the high rise buildings with their balconies and I wonder what it would be like on one. To stand there watching the sun come up over the city. It must be beautiful."

Catherine watched his face as he spoke. To think that this young Vincent had dreams like these. Were they dreams of the future or just the idle wonderings of a restless youth? It gave her a shiver to hear him talk about balconies like this. She remembered all the hours they had shared on hers before she gave up the apartment to move Below. With a gentle smile, she told him, "I'm sure that one day you will do that."

He felt the truth of her words and trusted that it would happen. He eagerly asked, "Do you live in a place with a balcony, Catherine?"

Answering truthfully because he would have no way of knowing that she was referring to things in the future, she said, "I used to, but the place where I live now doesn't have one. Although it does have many other places of beauty."

A bit disappointed that he wouldn't be getting an easy chance for that dream to come true, he changed the subject back to the book she still held. "Have you read Romeo and Juliet?"

"Yes, a couple of times on my own and once for school just like you, but we did it as a comparison piece to the more modern story of West Side Story. However I love the balcony scene too."

"My marker is there, would you like to read it together?" he asked a bit shyly because it was such a romantic scene.

"I'd love to!" she answered, scooting closer to him so they could share the book and then opening it to where his bookmark was.

They began reading the romantic words to each other. Catherine had the strong desire to put Vincent's name where Romeo's was, but she held herself back. She couldn't help but be affected by the young lovers impassioned speech. Vincent was also reacting to the emotions expressed. She could feel it through their Bond as well as hear it in his voice.

By the time they reached the end of the scene:

JULIET: Sweet, so would I. Yet I should kill thee with much cherishing. Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow. That I shall say good night till it be morrow.

ROMEO: Sleep dwell upon thine eyes, peace in thy breast! Would I were sleep and peace, so sweet to rest!

Both of their voices were husky and neither could meet the other's eyes.

There was a long silence before Vincent spoke, "You read that very well, Catherine."

"Thank you, Vincent, you did too."

They looked up at each other and their gazes locked. She could feel his hesitation and realized that he wanted to kiss her! Her heart leapt and she wasn't quite sure if she was reacting like a teenage girl to a cute boy wanting to kiss her, or if it was because as a woman, she knew where kissing Vincent could lead!

"Catherine, I would like to kiss you…" he said softly.

"I want you to Vincent…but…" she hesitated.

"You're torn." He could feel it through the Bond. "There's someone else?"

She couldn't help but utter a short half laugh. How could she tell him that the 'someone else' was him?! His future self…her husband! No, he wouldn't understand that at all. "It's very complicated, Vincent, but do you really want someone you just met tonight to be your first kiss?"

To be continued….


	44. Chapter 44

Chapter 44

You would think that someone who looked like Vincent did would assume she guessed that he hadn't been kissed because of the way he looked. But Vincent was rarely one to jump to conclusions even at this young age. Most of his impulsiveness had gone when Devin had left the tunnels. He was also rapidly learning to use the Bond to figure out any hidden meanings behind her words. Because of that he was quite sure of himself when he asked, "How did you know that?"

When his answer was slow in coming, he asked another question, "Or is the answer part of what Peter doesn't want you to tell?"

"It is," she answered, then taking both of his hands in hers she looked into the blue eyes that she loved so much and said, "I want to tell, Vincent. I just don't know if you know me well enough yet to tell when I'm not lying to you. Because what I have to tell you is going to be very hard to believe!"

"Catherine, I don't know how or why this is, but I feel that I do know you, that I have known you for a very long time. I also know that you would never intentionally lie to me except for when you said you'd seen me before. But I got the feeling it was to somehow protect me."

"It was in a way. I wanted you to know I wouldn't be afraid of the way you look, but it wasn't really a lie at all."

"I got that feeling too, but I didn't understand it."

"It's because the first time I saw you was three years ago for me, but for you it won't happen for another seventeen years."

Taking in the meaning of her words left Vincent nearly speechless, but he was sure there was a lot more to the story so he simply said, "Go on, Catherine."

"When I want to bed last night, it was 1990 not 1970. I'm not sure how it happened, but somehow I woke up twenty years in the past."

"So we meet…met sometime in the future?"

"Yes, you found me hurt in the Park, just like you did tonight and you brought me to Father then too."

"That was why you didn't react to my appearance or to this place when we got here. You have seen all of this before."

"Yes. I actually live Below, so I've seen you and been here many times. This is a favorite place of ou…mine."

He noticed the slip but let that pass for now. There were so many things he wanted to know! "What am I like as an adult? Do I look any different?" he asked eagerly.

She grinned and replied, "A little taller and a lot bigger, but otherwise you're just as handsome as you are now."

He blushed and hid his face behind his curtain of hair and she giggled at the sight. "And you still do that when you're embarrassed!"

"Catherine, how did you come to live Below?"

Her face had a far away look and he could once again feel a tumble of emotions coming from her, but after just a moment there was only one. It blazed brightly from her, almost giving her a glow. She smiled sweetly and said, "I fell in love and married someone here Below."

"You're married?" he gasped.

"Well, not the now me, but the then me is."

"And I shouldn't ask to whom, should I?"

"Probably not," she sighed.

"I see," and there was a wealth of knowledge in that statement. This explained why she was torn about him kissing her. There was something else he had noticed during her tumble of emotions. She had started it then and was still almost unconsciously doing it now. "Catherine, why are you rubbing your abdomen?"

She looked down as he asked, surprised to find out that he was right. He sensed all that as well as a feeling of emptiness. It was as if something should have been there that wasn't and then it dawned on him! "You're pregnant!?"

To be continued….


	45. Chapter 45

Chapter 45

With a sigh and a nod, she admitted, "Yes, not now, but in the future, and all I can do is hope that when whatever all this is over, that I'll be back there and the baby will be fine."

He reached out as if to take her hands, but instead settled for just patting them reassuringly. "I'm sure that will be so."

"Thank you, Vincent. It's good to be able to talk about it." She didn't hesitate at all in reaching out to take his hands and give them a squeeze.

"Catherine, be careful! My nails are very sharp!"

"You could never hurt me Vincent! I know that."

"I've hurt others!"

"Lisa and Devin."

"How did…I told you that?"

"About Lisa, yes."

"I scarred both of them for life!" he announced sadly.

"No! Lisa was only scratched! Her injury faded in days, she told me that herself! And Devin? Well, he had hit you in the nose first!"

"I told you that too?"

"No, actually I got that story from him."

"But how? He left the tunnels vowing never to return."

"He seemed to be prone to over dramatization! He did return, but I first met him in the DA's office where I worked. He came in as a new lawyer and I didn't find out until later that he was your brother."

"So you can understand why I don't touch people unless I have no other choice?"

"You mean why you became the world's best hugger?"

"I don't understand…"

"You…well, the future you, can say more with a hug than others can with speeches. The children in the tunnels favor yours and one other's hugs above all others."

"Yours?" he guessed with a tender smile.

"No, Mary's. She's like a mother to everyone Below."

"She is the one that taught me to hug."

"Well, she did a wonderful job."

Just a bit uncomfortable talking about physical contact with her when he wanted to have that with her, but couldn't since she was married he decided to change the subject. "So, you met Devin through your work?"

"Yes," she smiled reminiscently. "He is certainly a rapscallion! Devin Wells definitely has his own brand of charm."

Hesitantly he asked her, "Catherine, is your married name Wells?"

Knowing what he would think, she paused before answering, but then she thought that maybe it would be for the best if he thought that she was 'off limits' by being his future sister-in-law. So taking a deep breath she answered, "Yes, it is."

Nodding what he thought was his understanding, he suggested that they take turns finishing reading the book. They finished it in short order, and Vincent, knowing that it would still be over an hour before breakfast started to be served offered to make a cup of tea for both of them in his chamber. He also said that they could find another book to read there. Catherine agreed with the idea and started moving towards the hallway. Vincent said he would lead the way when she reminded him that this was her home too…in a way.

As they walked along, Vincent had time to dwell on the things Catherine had revealed about the future, and there was one thing his mind kept coming back to. How had she known that the kiss that hadn't happened would have been his first?

They reached his chamber and Catherine looked around comparing it to how she knew it to how it was now. There were, of course differences, things that weren't there that he would acquire in the next twenty years, but over all it was the same. A room filled with books and things lovingly collected from Above and Below.

As he made tea for them Vincent gathered his courage and turned to offer a mug while asking, "Catherine, you knew that would have been my first kiss…have I never even had a girl friend by the time you know me?"

Sensing all the hurt and feelings of rejection that were behind that question, because she was aware that he still dwelt on his abandonment as an infant, she knew that she had to tell him the truth, or at least part of the truth if she could keep some of it secret. "Yes, Vincent, you had a girl friend."

"Had? Did she leave me…or die?"

To be continued….


	46. Chapter 46

Chapter 46

Catherine could feel the fear that somehow he might have been the one to have caused this mystery girl harm. "No, Vincent! I only meant that she wasn't your girlfriend any longer because she became your wife."

"My wife?!" he repeated in a stunned voice. "I'm married?"

"Yes," she answered simply.

"Catherine, are she and I very much in love?" he asked with wonder filling his voice as he contemplated this happy future.

"Oh yes, Vincent! The love that the two of you share can light up a room just by your entrance!" she told him with the same look on her face that he had.

Vincent looked into her eyes and once again sensed the love he had felt from her before. But, after finding out she was married, and to his brother, he had put it down to a 'family' love, or a 'sisterly' one. Now however, as he felt it again he could tell this was much more than that! This love went far beyond what either of those should feel like. There was even passion there that made his cheeks flame red, but he couldn't break his gaze away from her to hide from that. He took an involuntary step closer to her and questioned breathlessly, "Catherine, are you married to my brother?"

"No, Vincent, I'm not…"

"Are you…I mean could it be possible that you're…my wife?"

The loving smile on her face told him a lot, but she countered with a question of her own, "How would that make you feel?"

The younger much more open and less repressed Vincent in front of her replied, "Since I'm already falling in love with you after only a few hours of us being together, I can't imagine anything better! I can tell you it sure hurt to think you were married to Devin!"

She laughed lightly, "I could never have married him! You were the only one for me, Vincent!"

"Catherine!" he exclaimed.

"What?" she questioned, with a worried frown at his tone.

"You said you were pregnant?!"

"Yes."

"We're going to have a baby?"!

A giggle couldn't be controlled as she saw the consternation on his face. "That's usually the result of being pregnant, Vincent!"

"Father told me that it wasn't possible for me to ever have children!"

"Well, I'm actually having one the baby," she teased. "But yes, Father was surprised when we told him. However it didn't take long for him to get used to the idea of being a grandfather."

"But…but…what kind of child, Catherine? What if the baby looks like me?!" he started pacing fretfully around the chamber.

With a heavy sigh she answered, "Vincent, come here and sit with me!" She patted a place on the bed next to her. When he did as she told him, she turned to face him and took his hands in hers. "That is the reason I'm here!"

"What do you mean?"

"In the future you're worried about the same thing and no matter what I said to convince you that not only would that be okay with me, but that I actually wanted our child to look like you, you wouldn't believe me!"

"Catherine! Why?!"

"Because to me, Vincent, you are beautiful! And I don't know how you feel about hearing that now, but I can tell you that your older you doesn't believe me!"

"Don't we have a Bond in the future?" he questioned earnestly.

"Yes we do, why do you ask?"

"Because I can tell through the Bond that you're telling me the truth. Why can't I do that in the future?"

"Maybe I said it wrong. You might not believe that I'm lying to you, but you refuse to believe that you're beautiful. We argued that night before bed because I wanted to put a mirror in our chamber and you said 'no' because you hate your own reflection. I believe that a lot of it had to do with all the years that Father had been telling you how 'different' you were. As I fell asleep, I made a wish that I could have met you when you were younger, before time and people had convinced you otherwise. I wanted a chance to tell you how beautiful you are, not just on the inside where you are a loving, caring, giving individual, but on the outside too! And not despite your differences, but because of them!" she insisted fervently.

To be continued….


	47. Chapter 47

Chapter 47

After a long pause, where he considered her words carefully, he replied, "Catherine, if you have gone through all this just to convince me of that, then how can I not believe you? I can see the truth of what you say in your eyes and feel it through our Bond. I have always loved looking at the pictures Elizabeth painted of Father holding me as a baby…have you seen them?" he asked interrupting himself. At her misty-eyed nod he continued, "To think that one day I will be able to see you holding a tiny version of me in your arms is something I would consider a gift beyond measure!"

"Oh, Vincent!" she exclaimed, hugging him tightly. "If there was only some way to be sure that you would remember that when I get back to you!"

"Catherine! Do you really have to go back? We could start our life together now instead of waiting all those years!"

"My love, while that is more tempting than you could know, to have all those extra years with you, you have to understand that my life is there! We're expecting a baby in a month. I have to go back!"

"I guess you do," he said slowly. "Catherine, I promise you that I will remember this! I won't ever forget our time together!"

"I want to leave you something to help you remember…may I have the book we were reading?"

With a nod, he pulled it out of his cloak pocket without any question and handed it to her.

"This card you were using as a bookmark…could I write something on the back of it?"

"Yes, it's a birthday card Mary made for me."

When he got up from the bed to get a pen for her, she looked at the lovingly homemade card. Mary's tender words brought a tear to Catherine's eye as she read them.

Taking the pen from Vincent's hand and turning the card over to the blank back, she said, "This song won't come out for a few years yet. I think it was about the mid-seventies that Joe Cocker first did it, but I liked the later version by Kenny Rogers better. However I remember that when I first heard it, it stuck in my head for months. I would always find myself humming it. It really meant a lot to me. Maybe somehow I knew that sometime in the future how important it would be!" She wrote out the words quickly and then handed him the card. "That is how I feel about you, Vincent!"

He read:

**"You Are So Beautiful"**

You are so beautiful  
To me  
You are so beautiful  
To me  
Can't you see  
You're everything I hoped for  
You're everything I need  
You are so beautiful  
To me

You are so wonderful  
To me  
You are so wonderful  
To me  
Can't you see  
You're everything I hoped for  
You're everything I need

You are so beautiful  
You are so beautiful  
You are so beautiful  
To me

With all my love,

Catherine

Vincent softly read the words out loud in that magical voice of his that never failed to send a shiver of excitement down her spine. She watched as a single tear formed and rolled down his furred cheek. His eyes rose from the card and he asked almost in a whisper, "Is this really how you see me, Catherine?"

"Yes," she answered, standing to wipe the tear from his cheek with the tip of her finger.

Caressing her cheek with the back of his hand, he asked with a half smile, "Catherine, will you finally tell me how you knew about my first kiss?"

She answered tenderly, as her cheek cuddled into his hand, "Because I was your first."

The hand that had been caressing her cheek slid behind her neck and gently tilted her head up. He said, "Then it shouldn't really matter if it happens now or then."

To be continued….


	48. Chapter 48

Chapter 48

His head lowered and their lips met. Catherine knew this was his first kiss. But this wasn't the kiss of an inexperienced boy! Rather, after the first moment of adjustment it became as sensuous as any the adult Vincent had ever given her. She didn't know if it was their Bond that led him to this level of intimacy, but she felt just like she was kissing her Vincent, not this seventeen year old version! She had planned on allowing him a brief peck, a nice first kiss, because even though she looked like a fifteen year old girl, in her heart she was a married woman. But at the first feel of his unique lips against hers she was in trouble, and when his tongue sought entrance to her mouth, she was lost. Melting into his arms, hers rose to slide around his neck, while Vincent pulled her even closer.

They were both so lost in the kiss that neither of them heard Father approaching. As he came around the corner into Vincent's chamber, he was saying, "Vincent, I thought we could go to break…"

He stopped when he saw what was happening in the room and that they didn't even realize he was there! It wasn't until he demanded, in that strict parental tone, "Vincent, what ARE you doing!?" that they broke apart, but remained in each other's arms.

Calmly, Vincent answered, "I was kissing Catherine, Father."

At this simple explanation, without any nervous hesitation, blushing, or guilty apology, Father became very upset. "Vincent, you CAN'T!" he insisted.

"Actually, he was doing a very good job of it until you came in, and I'm sure if you were to leave, he could do so again!" Catherine informed the elder man.

She could feel Vincent's strong desire to laugh at her comment, but she also felt him fight to suppress it, knowing it would not help the situation at all.

"Vincent, we have discussed this!"

"Yes, we have, Father, and Catherine has proven you to be wrong on the subject. I have not hurt her, nor will I, and since she will one day be my wife and the mother of your grandchild, I would think that you would be glad of that!"

"Wife?! Grandchild?! Have the two of you lost your minds? You are barely more than children yourselves!"

"It's all right, Father, I wasn't talking about tomorrow or even next year. But some time in the future you can be sure that Catherine and I will be married."

"Vincent, you don't even know this girl! You only met her last night!"

"That is true, but we have a Bond, Father. I don't know how to explain it, but Catherine and I can feel what the other is feeling. We just know these things to be true," Vincent assured him.

"We're soul mates, Father. The other half of each other. Some people spend their whole lives searching for their other half and never find him or her! Vincent and I were lucky enough to find each other now. But we will take things slowly, there's no need to rush. We're both very young and we have our whole lives ahead of us!"

Somewhat reassured by Catherine's reasonable words, Father decided to bide his time and keep a careful watch on the two of them. He was mentally making plans never to leave the two of them alone together even as he asked in a challenging voice, "If that is truly the case then why don't the two of you come to breakfast with me now?"

"We'd love to, wouldn't we, Vincent?" Catherine asked moving out of his embrace even as she felt his reluctance to let her go. She linked her arm with his and waited.

He wanted to protest that he would much prefer to be alone with her and return to kissing, but in the face of Father's disapproving stare and Catherine's silent urging that he go along with this for now, he said, "That would be fine, Father."

The three of them walked to the dining hall and Father was about to lead them to his usual table when Pascal called out to Vincent to come and join him. Looking at his parent, Vincent respectfully asked, "Father, would it be all right if Catherine and I sat over there? I'd really like to introduce her to my friends."

Seeing no harm in a group situation like that, Father agreed and the two younger people headed to a table full of other teens.

To be continued….


	49. Chapter 49

Chapter 49

Vincent happily led Catherine over to the table where four other teenagers were gathered. She could feel his pride at being able to introduce her to his friends. He kept his arm around her shoulders as he said, "Catherine, I'd like you to meet; Rebecca who helps to make all the candles that we use here. Olivia, who works with Mary doing all the sewing and knitting that gets done. Pascal works in the Pipe Chamber with his father; it's our communication system, and Winslow who is on our construction crew, carving out new chambers for our ever growing community."

Catherine had greeted the first three of his friends happily, almost as if they were old friends of hers instead. But when he came to Winslow, he felt a jump of pain along the Bond. At first he'd thought that maybe Winslow had squeezed her hand to tight, but then realized no one had been shaking hands. He looked down at her and when her face turned up to his it was full of sadness. "Catherine?" he questioned softly.

"Not here, Vincent, later," she whispered, then plastered a smile on her face as he finished the introductions.

"Everyone this is Catherine Chandler, she's a friend of our Helper Peter Alcott."

"Oh cool!" Rebecca exclaimed. "Do you know that Chandler means candle maker?"

Catherine laughed gaily and squeezed Vincent's hand as she took her seat next to him. "You know, I did know that, and funnily enough, the person that told me was also named Rebecca."

As she said that, Vincent knew that Catherine was referring to the very same Rebecca, only the one she was talking about was almost twenty years older.

While everyone was commenting on the coincidence, a large bearded man approached the table with a tray in his hands.

"Oh yum! Muffins!" Olivia enthused.

"Catherine, this is William, our cook."

"By the smell of those muffins, you have to be the best cook in the world!" Catherine endeared herself forever to William by her praise.

"In honor of our young guest, I made a small batch of very special muffins with the last of the chocolate chips I had. It seems there was just enough for six."

"That's great! There are six of us!" Winslow cheered.

Vincent leaned close to Catherine and whispered, "This is a big treat. We get chocolate so rarely here."

"And you love it so!" she grinned up at him.

For just a moment he was startled that she knew that, before he remembered that she must know everything about him. It was just a bit disconcerting, but warm and wonderful at the same time.

William passed each one of them a muffin and only Catherine didn't dive into hers immediately. Instead she looked eagerly at William's tray and asked, "Do you have an apple cinnamon one in there too?"

"I do, young lady, but they are rather large and I have only known Winslow and Vincent to be able to eat more than one at a time!"

"I am really hungry, William," she insisted, and then added sadly, "I missed dinner last night."

That was all it took for the gentle giant of a man. He made it his mission to make sure everyone was well fed and so Catherine received a second muffin without any hesitation.

"Vincent? Winslow?" William asked.

Both boys replied, "Oatmeal raisin please!"

They received their second muffin too, but rather than digging in, Vincent was watching Catherine with fascination. She carefully and precisely cut her apple muffin in half and then calmly without asking took the oatmeal one from his plate and did the same. A moment later both of them had half a muffin of each flavor on their plate.

"You've done this before," he stated assuredly in a voice low enough only she could hear.

She smiled serenely up at him and answered, "Every morning William makes muffins."

"And where did your chocolate chip one go?" he wanted to know since it wasn't anywhere in sight.

"I guess I'm not as hungry as I thought after all. I wrapped it in my napkin and will save it for later."

He knew she had lied again! Not about saving the muffin for later, but when she had told William how hungry she was! She was keeping the chocolate muffin for him! Because she did know how rarely they got that special treat Below and just how much he loved it! It was no wonder his older self had fallen in love with her if she was always doing generous things like that for him.

The six of them finished eating and the other four had to hurry off to their assigned work. Because Vincent had been instructed to watch over Catherine and keep her awake, he was excused.

To be continued….


	50. Chapter 50

Chapter 50

As the two of them left the dining hall, Vincent asked, "Would you like to go back to my chamber and read like we planned before?"

"I'd love to do that! Have you read Great Expectations yet?"

"No, but it is on my list. Do you like it?"

"It's the first book you read to me…in the future. It became a favorite of ours."

"Then I would love to share it with you now too."

When they arrived in his chamber, Vincent went to the bookshelf to find the book. As he turned around, he started to apologize for having only one chair in his chamber, only to find that Catherine had already solved the problem. She was on his bed sitting there calm as you please propped up by his pillows. With a small gulp, he said, "You look comfortable there."

Her knowing smile made his blood race. "Come here next to me and see for yourself," she replied.

Bringing the book with him he walked over to the bed and joined her. "Catherine, weren't we going to read?" he asked with just a hint of nervousness in his voice. After all kissing her was one thing, but being in bed together could definitely lead to more that just that.

"Yes, Vincent, we are. Just because we are on your bed doesn't mean we can't read here. It just gives us the added bonus of being able to cuddle at the same time."

"I like the sound of that," he admitted and put one arm around her as she cuddled close to his side. Opening the book on his lap, he began to read aloud.

Vincent read the first chapter and Catherine the second, but by the time he finished reading the third, both of them realized just how tired they were from a night without sleep. "Catherine, I'm sure it's safe for you to sleep now in regard to your head injury, but I'm afraid…" he trailed off.

"I don't believe it, Vincent! You're the bravest person I know. What is it you're afraid of?"

"I don't know what will happen if we sleep."

Knowing what he was referring to, Catherine let her lawyers training kick in and start to analyze things. "Well, what are the possible outcomes? We could sleep and wake up right here…"

"That would be my wish."

"Or this could all just be my dream. I could wake up in 1990 and you would have no idea I dreamed all this."

"That would be my worst fear. To have no memory of all this happening to us and then your wish would have failed," he answered sadly.

"My worst fear is that now that you know how gorgeous you are, you will have dozens of girls in your life and when we finally meet all those years from now you won't fall in love with me. You might even be married to someone else by that time!" she admitted with a catch in her voice.

"Oh, Catherine! Don't you know that a Bond like ours is impossibly rare and precious? Do you really think that I will be able to find what we have with anyone else, and that once I've experienced this, that I could settle for anything less?"

"Oh, Vincent!" she sighed with tears forming in her eyes.

"I don't want you to go, Catherine."

"I know, my love, and I am torn too, but what of my Vincent? If all this is real, he has to be insane with worry about me and where I am. And we are expecting a baby! How can I not return to that life?" she pleaded for his understanding.

"I do understand what you are saying, Catherine, and maybe the Bond we have now is what led me to find you in the Park then? Who can really know what all this means? All I do know for sure is that now, or in the future, you are the only one for me and nothing will change that!"

"I feel the same way, Vincent. No matter the time or place, you are the only man I will ever love! And, Vincent…you'll remember…"

"That I'm beautiful? Yes, Catherine, I'll remember, and other that that we will just have to trust that our love to see us through."

"All right," she said softly, trying to be as brave as he was about this.

Vincent put the book aside and they shared a tender kiss before settling down to sleep.

To be continued….


	51. Chapter 51

Chapter 51

Catherine opened her eyes slowly. The first thing she saw was the face of the one she loved most in all the world. That wasn't surprising though, since she had gone to sleep in his arms.

Vincent opened his eyes and stared in wonder at the incredible woman in is arms. "Catherine!"

"Yes, my love?"

"I had the most fantastically real dream!"

"About us meeting in our teens?"

"You had it too?" he gasped.

"I was sure it was my dream," she answered.

"Because of your wish?"

"We really did have the same dream! Do you think that this is a new aspect to our Bond?"

"I don't know. I guess if I have learned anything since you've come into my life, it's that anything at all is possible! Catherine, you really would have done something like that just to convince me that I'm beautiful?"

"Yes, Vincent, I would! Did it work?" she asked with a smile as she sat up in bed. She could see the look on his face and sense his feelings through their Bond. She knew his answer before he spoke.

His smile was so warm and accepting, it was as if he lived with the knowledge for the last twenty years instead of having just awakened from a dream with it. However, it didn't matter at all to Catherine when she heard him say, "It did, Catherine. I acknowledge that the events of the last few years did much to color Father's years of emphasis on my differences; although, it was my own fears that changed 'differences' to 'ugly' and 'beast-like'. Your love knocked many holes in the walls of belief I had built, but this shared dream was what finally demolished that wall. While the term 'beautiful' might still make me a little uncomfortable, even with my innate modesty, I can acknowledge now that I'm not unattractive."

Trying to suppress her laughter at his awkward admission, she replied, "Well, that IS a major leap forward for you! Does that mean that we can have a mirror in our chamber now?"

Hugging his adorable wife, he teased, "Maybe a small one..."

"Yay!" she cheered jumping out of bed and prancing across the room. "I think this wall would be a good place to hang it, don't you?" she asked motioning to a spot in their new bed chamber that she had been keeping clear for just that purpose.

"Whatever you like, Catherine," he told her with an indulgent smile.

"Hey!" she protested as Vincent got out of bed.

Her hand was on the swell of her tummy when he looked at her. "Catherine, what is it?" he asked with concern.

"I think the baby is trying to tell me it's time for breakfast! Ever since the bouts of morning sickness stopped I just can't get enough to eat. Do you think I'm gaining too much weight?"

"No, I don't. Peter and Father both told you that the difference in our two sizes is what is making you so large. I am only hoping that it won't make the delivery more difficult for you."

"I'll be fine, Vincent! You must stop worrying. Now let's get dressed and go hunt down some breakfast!" With a saucy wink, she asked, "Do you think William might have muffins this morning?"

"I am sure as besotted as he is with you, if you asked him he would instantly return to the kitchen to make you some!"

"Ooooh, do you really think so?!" she questioned with an eager gleam in her eye.

Shaking his shaggy head at her avarice, Vincent began to dress for the day. He put on his sturdiest clothes because today he was assigned to the 'repairs' work crew. The two of them were just about to leave their chamber when Jamie peeked her head around the corner of the doorway.

"Hi, guys. I'm glad I caught you before you left for breakfast."

"What can we do to help you, Jamie?" Vincent asked the young girl.

"Well, we're starting to read Romeo and Juliet in Father's Literature class this coming week and when he was handing out books, he ran out. Father said that he thought you had a copy and that you might lend it to me. I promise I will take very good care of it!"

To be continued….


	52. Chapter 52

Chapter 52

Vincent smiled at her, "I'm sure you will, Jamie. I'm glad that Father is still teaching Romeo and Juliet, I remember reading it in his Literature class at just your age." As he turned to look for the book on his shelf, he smiled at Catherine as he thought about reading it the dream they had just shared.

"It was always one of my favorites," Catherine told Jamie as Vincent searched the shelf.

He handed Jamie the beautiful leather-bound volume and she took it with a smile. "Thanks, Vincent! I'll bring it back as soon as we're finished with it."

"There's no hurry," he informed her, watching her idly flipping through the pages.

She stopped and pulled something from between them. "You must have left this in here, Vincent. Do you want it?"

He thanked her as he took the card from her, and she left the room to go get breakfast herself. However, the two left alone in the room had forgotten all about eating. Vincent's eyes met Catherine's as he held the card and she saw his hand begin to tremble.

"Vincent?"

"I'm almost afraid to turn it over and look."

"Why?" she asked softly, moving forward to place her hand on his shaking arm.

"I guess it felt safe to think that it was all just a dream. If the song that you wrote on the back of this card is there, what does that mean?"

"I don't know, Vincent, but why would it be something to fear?"

"It would change reality for us…"

"But the card was already there, doesn't that already change things?"

"No. Mary really did make this card for my seventeenth birthday."

"Well, we should find out…do you want me to do it, Vincent?"

He smiled at her, "No. Someone once told me that I was the bravest person they knew. I think I can find the courage to turn this card over."

"Okay," she grinned. "Just remember I'm here with you."

Turning the card slowly over, both of them saw it at the same time. There was the words of the song that Catherine had written in what they had both thought had been a dream.

"It was real!" she whispered softly, reaching out to run a finger over the writing.

"Catherine, when I read these words after you had written them, I have to tell you that I was so jealous…"

"Jealous? I don't understand, Vincent."

"I was jealous of the older me. Even though you looked like a teenager I could sense a woman's heart through the Bond. I stood there and resented 'him' for having the love that I wanted from you."

"Oh, Vincent!" she turned to face him and hugged him tightly. "I was torn, you know. Please don't misunderstand! I love 'this' you more than my own life, but he was so sweet and innocent. Not just in the ways of physical love, but of the violence I had brought into your life. I thought that if I stayed there not only would we have all those extra years, but I could prevent the violence from visiting your life by never getting involved with the DA's office."

"But you told me…him that you needed to return to me…this time."

"Yes. Because we haven't just had bad times Vincent. We've had wonderful times too! Our first anniversary, my first Winterfest, and if I hadn't been involved with the DA's office, we might never have met and rescued Ellie and Eric. If I hadn't been attacked, I wouldn't have been working on that hotline where I met Lena. There are so many memories we've shared and a life we've created here Below, and within me! How could I have abandoned our child?"

"You're right, Catherine. Given the same choice, I would have done just what you did. The life we've shared thus far is worth everything! And soon we will have a new life to share all of that with. Our child is so blessed to have you for a mother."

"And you for a father!" she insisted.

He smiled at her and added, "Whether he or she looks like you or me, I know our child will be so very beautiful!"

Catherine couldn't help but agree. During the kiss that followed his comment, Catherine's tummy once again protested that it was time for breakfast. They laughed and made their way to the dining hall.

Upon arrival they discovered an air of extreme excitement. It seemed that William had made chocolate chip muffins, and there was enough for everyone to have as many as they wanted! The community was very surprised by the unexpected and rare treat. Everyone that was but Catherine and Vincent, they just shared a knowing smile and got in line for their share.

THE END


End file.
